Heart of the Shadowlands
by thats-a-moray
Summary: A young Nala fights to escape an arranged marriage while the Pridelands fall apart under Scar's rule. Secrets will be revealed, friends will die, and Nala must find the courage to be queen. (On temporary hiatus.)
1. Quid Pro Quo

_Yet out of the ashes of this tragedy,  
_

_we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era  
_

_in which lion and hyena come together  
_

_in a great and glorious future! _

- King Scar, _The Lion King_

**PART I**

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA

Months ago the plentiful rains Nala knew for most of her life abruptly died off, leaving the winding river nearly bone dry save a few muddy puddles, the largest overcrowded by hippos and thirsty animals. Even the great Watering Hole, once plentiful, shrunk to the size of a small pool. For the first time ever Nala truly understood what thirst meant. Although hearing the adults moan with relief about the relatively mild dry season this year made her want to fall over dead, idle chat about the weather was still preferable to the usual topic of the day: politics.

Not that politics bored her. She relished the opportunity to be a lizard on the rock and listen to the adults discuss the important goings-on about Pride Rock. Frustratingly, most of the time she struggled to understand the topic, which the adults refused to explain to her, or found herself rudely dismissed when she did manage to say something she thought profound. Nala had a love-hate relationship with politics at the age when all young lions believe they ought to be treated like adults. Once she said it wasn't fair that the adults looked down on her opinions so much when they trusted her to do other adult things, like explore outside Pride Rock and take hunting lessons. Even though she was one of the best young huntresses in her class, an honor that carried the responsibility of being a good example to her classmates, few adults took her seriously. For this reason she found politics exhausting even at the best of times. And so on this morning Nala was glad to put politics out of her mind. Today she was going to do a good deed.

After her mother left with the huntresses to search for game, Nala and Roho (who had spent the night with them on account of his sister's snoring) headed out to the dry riverbed to search for smooth stones. When they were cubs, Nana Uru showed them some old smooth stones and told a legend about a mighty hippo who summoned rain and ended a hundred year dry spell by breaking the stones with his foot and releasing the water. By holding one of the stones under her nose and breathing deeply, Nala smelled the water of hundreds of wet seasons past locked inside the rock as if by ancient magic. In the Pride Lands, smooth stones were a traditional gift given to friends near the end of the dry season believed to bring joy and good luck.

"I got one!" Roho rolled the smooth stone out of the mud puddle with his paw. Once the stone was on dry earth he carefully picked it up in his mouth as though it might crack and brought it over to the pile they had spent the last two hours collecting by migrating from puddle to puddle and bringing the stones with them one at a time.

The stone Roho discovered cleaned up pale silver, reminding her of a full moon. Roho placed it in the pile of clean stones and sat down beside Nala to admire their treasure trove. Her nose and paws were caked with muddy earth, her back baked by the sun, and her chest swollen to the fullest with accomplishment. Each stone was unique: one dark and lumpy, one cream colored and tear drop shaped, one dark brown, one grey and streaked with white like a zebra, and of course Roho's silver moonstone. They had done well.

"Do you think that's enough?" Roho asked. She looked at him and smiled. No way would Sarabi stay cooped up in her den with all the happiness she would get from these smooth stones, not to mention all the good luck they would bring. He licked his paw for a couple seconds then suddenly cast worried look at Pride Rock. "Um… how are we going to get them all back? There's so many of them and Pride Rock is so far away, we can't take them all in one trip."

Of course Roho would say that. Carrying the rocks one by one from puddle to puddle had not been a problem since the puddles were relatively close together. Now that they needed to carry them all the way back to Pride Rock the trip would be more difficult but not as impossible as Roho made it sound. "That's easy. I'll stay here while you go back to Pride Rock and get your sisters to help with the rest. That way we each only have to carry one rock."

His ears drooped. "By myself?"

"You're faster than I am. It won't take long."

"But what if a hyena catches me?"

"Just tell him you're running an errand for your mother. You're…" Nala thought. "Okay, say she told you to go check if there's any water left in the river and now you're going back to let her know you found some. He'll have to let you go."

Roho scrunched up his face as if committing the story to memory caused him discomfort. Or perhaps he was simply over thinking it again. Not a thought could pass through Roho's head without being interrogated and scrutinized. Some cubs, especially his sister Ruka, made fun of him for being 'stupid.' Nala vehemently disagreed. Quick thinking was a hazard to him. Instead he thought slowly, meticulously, and though he often panicked over details that she would have dismissed as unimportant his insights often got her out of trouble. "A-are you sure you'll be alright by yourself? What if I can't find my sisters?"

"You don't know where they are?"

"Well, Ruka and Chumvi are usually playing together and they never tell me where they're going. Bombu could be anywhere."

She hadn't thought of that. The sun was rising fast and there was little shade at this part of the river and the only water was mostly mud. Her plan depended on Roho coming back as quickly as possible so they could all make it home before midday. Nala glanced at the sky and frowned. "Well there's only five of them. I can fit two or three in my mouth."

"That sounds dangerous. I mean, you could trip and break all your teeth. Or choke!"

"Do I look clumsy to you?"

"Accidents happen," Roho protested meekly. Even Nala had to admit to herself that carrying three stones in her mouth would be tricky, let alone two, but she kept this thought to herself. She did not want Roho to think she was a backtracker. Roho added, "Wouldn't it be safer to find a big leaf and pile all the stones onto it?"

That was a sort of clever idea. Unfortunately, near the end of the dry season, finding a big leaf just wasn't an option. She shook her head.

"I guess you're right…" he agreed after thinking it over more thoroughly. Suddenly his face lit up. "What about monkeys?"

Nala lifted her eyebrows. _What about monkeys?_

"They have those…" Roho sat on his haunches and held up his forepaws, spreading and flexing his toes. "Hands. Yeah, they have hands."

She arched her ears and scanned the riverbanks with her eyes. Sparse trees with thin branches grew in the distance. She could only imagine how long it would take wandering from tree to tree, searching in vain for one that might have monkeys in it. Besides, monkeys were notorious thieves. She shook her head again. "Nana always said never trust a monkey unless you have a banana."

"What's the banana for?"

"For bribing them."

"Oh, right… right…" Roho studied the pile hopelessly. Nala did the same. They had to think of a way to get these smooth stones back to Pride Rock and give them to Sarabi.

_We could just take two_, Nala thought begrudgingly. After all the effort they put into gathering five smooth stones she hated to leave most of their bounty behind. While she hesitated her ears suddenly picked up the sound of pebbles chattering into the dry riverbed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Roho whip his head around and his rust colored fur stand on end. By the time she spun around the hyena was already too close to run.

"Ah-ha, I knew I smelled cubs down here!" the hyena loudly congratulated himself. "You cubs know you're not supposed to be this far from Pride Rock without supervision. Where's your escort!?"

Roho cowered behind her. Although they were practically the same age, Roho was the runt of his litter and had not even the tuft of a mane. Nala bared her teeth and shouted back in her most grown-up voice, "We're not cubs, we're almost a year old! We don't need an escort!"

"The law says no cub under a year of age is allowed more than a hundred yards from Pride Rock without a guard. You two are breaking the law."

"That's not true! We told Nyonda and Nana Uru where we were going and they gave us permission."

"Yeah, right. I know a couple of trouble makers when I see them." The hyena practically drooled with anticipation. Nala hated him and all the other guards who always pounced on the chance to get someone in trouble for breaking the law, even if they were following the law or it didn't make sense. She saw the hyena's beady eyes turn on Roho. "Hey you, baboon-butt! What are you hiding!?"

Nala glanced over her shoulder and felt her jaw drop, for there was Roho crouched over the pile of smooth stones like an ostrich protecting her nest and trembling all over. His golden eyes looked as big and round as two suns. As the hyena advanced on them Nala tried desperately to block his path. "H-he's not hiding anything! He just gets like that when he's scared."

"Move it!" the hyena snapped, shouldering her aside. Clumsily regaining her balance, Nala watched helplessly as the hyena towered over her friend. Roho stared dumbly into the hyena's dripping maw and when he growled the red lion seemed to stop breathing. Everyone knew the hyenas were not as trustworthy as Scar claimed. Only a few weeks after he took the throne Laini, one of the huntresses, had her ear nearly ripped off during a fight with a hyena. Naturally the hyena claimed self-defense, but Laini said otherwise. Nala and her friends had also been chased by a group of hyenas. No matter how many times the hyenas objected and tried to change their story Nala firmly believed that if not for her mother and the bravery of a rogue called Ni she would have been killed that day. There was no underestimating hyenas. Besides, there was no point in hiding the stones anymore.

Only when she called his name did Roho finally snap out of it. Slowly rising from the stones, he backed away and fled to her side while the hyena snapped his jaws and cackled mirthfully until the light reflecting off the stones distracted him. He titled his head to the side and raised his ears as if he expected the stones to speak. "Woah… pretty…" He turned them over with his paws and looked at the cubs intently. "Where did you get these?"

"From the river," Nala said coldly. "It took us all morning to dig them up. They're presents for Queen Sarabi."

The hyena snorted. "What would a queen want with a bunch of rocks?"

Nala said nothing. Roho peeked around her shoulder, staying low to the ground. There was no reason for him to make himself so small when the hyena was staring at her so intensely. The hyena started to smirk. "Unless there's something special about them…"

Her ears twitched. She couldn't think of a way out of this. "They're just rocks."

"Oh, I see… Then you won't mind if I take them."

"N-no, you can't!" Roho squeaked. Nala glared at him.

"Why not? They're just a bunch of worthless river rocks."

"They're special rocks. Ow!" Nala stepped on his paw. She interjected, "He doesn't know what he's talking about. Heatstroke."

"No!" Roho yanked out his paw and stood out of reach. He gazed up at the hyena, submissive and pleading, "If you sniff them they give you good luck and happiness. That's why we're getting them for Sarabi. She hasn't come out of her den in a long, long time and we need these rocks to make her happy again. Please! She's your queen, too!"

The hyena looked unimpressed with Roho's theatrics. Suddenly he started to chuckle smugly. "Tell you what. Since this has been so entertaining I'll let you kids go – _if_ you give me all your pretty rocks."

Nala bristled. "That's stealing!"

"Nope, it's a fair trade. Or maybe if you don't like it I'll just take the stones and report you anyway. I'm sure Captain Shenzi would love to get her paws on a couple of plump little snacks."

That name sent a shiver from Nala's neck all the way to the tip of her tail. On the night of Scar's ascension she had watched in shock and horror as he named the three hyenas that almost killed her as a cub Captains of the Guard, now known to her as Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. She tried to hide her fear with a scowl but her eyes betrayed her. She looked away.

"Come on Roho, let's go." There was nothing they could do.

The two cubs backed away from the hyena. As Nala turned to climb up the river bank she glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the hyena lunge at them. Letting out a terrified shriek she scrambled up the bank alongside Roho and ran for the shadow of Pride Rock, her cheeks burning with fury and humiliation. Behind them the hyena's laughter faded away, swallowed up by the hot wind. They ran for several minutes before they felt safe to stop and catch their breath under a nearly leafless acacia tree. The moment she had air in her lungs again she turned on Roho. "This is all your fault! What were you thinking!?"

"I'm sorry!" Roho cried. His voice cracked from the heat and sounded like a hiccup.

"If you hadn't been so… so…" She stamped her forepaw on the ground. There was a word her mother used for huntresses who foolishly gave away their position. "So _conspicuous _none of this would have happened!"

"I'm sorry! I just – I was trying – I thought I could be brave for you, like Simba!"

_Simba…_

She froze, her anger suddenly half an act. Simba would have been brave. When Shenzi tried to grab her in the Elephant Graveyard Simba rushed back to save her. Even when all hope seemed lost Simba still tried to protect her and if Mufasa had not come to their rescue he would have gone down fighting to save her. Her chest seemed to squeeze in on her. If Simba was here now…

No, no more sadness. She was getting too old for childish emotions. When she looked back at Roho and saw his tear stained cheeks all anger vanished from her heart. "Stop it, don't cry. Crying won't do us any good."

Roho sniffed and rubbed his face with his paw, smearing mud across his nose. "Sorry. I'm just a big baby."

"No you're not. You were very brave. You just…" She frowned and shook her head. There was no point in telling Roho to think more before he acted. Usually he did. "Forget about it. We can find more smooth stones on our way back to Pride Rock."

Roho nodded. He seemed eager to put this behind them. Having just run over a mile, however, they were too tired to continue. Instead they lied down back to back in the snake-like shadow of the acacia tree and watched for hyenas while they gathered their strength and cleaned their paws.

Some distance away, rippling in the heat, Nala spotted the figure of an old lioness. She was standing all alone, obviously not a part of her mother's hunting party, though she was so far away that even by squinting Nala could not make out any details of her face. She thought it might be Nana Huzuni, the lioness who disappeared from Pride Rock after Scar took the throne and who had been wandering the Pridelands by herself, refusing contact with any of the pride members. Nala's mother, Sarafina, seemed to know what caused Huzuni to retreat from Pride Rock, but when Nala asked she only said that it was a sad story that happened before Nala was born. There were rumors that Huzuni wanted to leave the Pridelands altogether. The only obstacle holding her back was the wall of hyenas guarding the boarder.

Huzuni wasn't the only lioness being held back. Laini, the lioness with the torn ear, also threatened to leave, though she never secluded herself the way Huzuni did. Shaba and Zito, two huntresses on her mother's team, had also talked about leaving. One day while Nala was resting up in a tree she awoke to find the two lionesses plotting to escape the Pridelands once and for all unwittingly beneath her branches. Nothing ever came of it and she told no one. She hoped they changed their minds, but Huzuni had obviously not. Before Nala could mention her sighting to Roho the lone lioness had disappeared into the mirage.


	2. Be Prepared

After their rest Nala and Roho followed the river back to Pride Rock. They arrived at midday, just as the heat was growing unbearable. There seemed to be two suns; one spouting fire from above, the other gushing lava beneath their paws. _I hope the huntresses are alright_, Nala thought to herself. Her mother always said that heatstroke was the third greatest danger on a hunt. The second was careless thinking and the first was being a show-off.

They carried smooth stones in their mouths. These smooth stones they found on the banks of the river where they had been baking in the sun for months. Too hot to carry, they kicked them half-way back to Pride Rock. Unlike the other smooth stones they dug up, which were colorful and came in many different shapes, these stones were speckled, flat and grey. Without digging they were the best the two cubs could find. Unfortunately after their last encounter with a hyena neither of them could work up the nerve to go down into the river and dig.

As Nala and Roho rounded the pillars of Pride Rock they passed lumps of hyenas taking refuge in the shadows. They guarded their shade with jealous growls and high pitched yips. The hyenas always fought the lionesses for the best places to wait out the noon heat. Nala and Roho hurried past.

For the past two weeks Sarabi had been absent from her usual place in the communal den, as had Scar. Lately she even stopped going on her morning walks through Pride Rock. The pride missed her calming presence. Even Nala's headstrong mother seemed lighter after her morning talks with Sarabi, whereas without her she stomped around like a rhinoceros. Sarafina and Sarabi had been best friends for as long as Nala could remember and even though they were not related Sarabi always felt like an aunt to her. She even called her auntie from time to time. Once when they were cubs Roho got upset over Nala calling the queen Auntie because he thought she was trying to steal his aunt away from him, so she never called her auntie in front of him again. Her mother said it probably had something to do with Roho having so many sisters to compete with. Being an only cub, Nala never understood the rivalry between siblings.

The den were Sarabi had secluded herself was located under a pile of boulders behind Pride Rock. Captain Banzai paced outside, grumbling to himself. When he spotted the two of them he spun around with his tail high up in the air and snapped, "Hey, you two! Identify yourselves!"

Nala dropped her stone on the ground. "You _know_ who we are," she snapped, moistening her lips. While Captain Shenzi was sent out on more exciting tasks such as patrolling the boarders of the Pridelands and maintaining order, Captain Banzai was always stuck sulking around Pride Rock where there was nothing for him to do except act meaner and more important than he was. Nala crossed paths with him often enough to know his bark was worse than his bite.

"Don't get smart with me, missy! You know the drill. I can't let you pass until you identify yourselves and state your business."

"Nala and Roho. We're here to visit the Queen."

"A likely story."

"You've seen us with her a million times. My mom is her best friend, Roho is her nephew."

Banzai shook his head. "Mm-mm, not good enough! How do I know you're not just spies who look like Roho and Nala? Nope, you two will have to give me the password."

Nala groaned loudly, "Ugh, come on! I don't want to say it again. We're not spies."

"I don't hear any password," Captain Banzai sang.

Nala sighed heavily. She glanced at Roho, who looked just as exasperated as she felt. They each took a deep breath and said in unison: "Captain Banzai is the toughest, smartest, and best looking animal in the Pridelands."

"Annnnnd?"

"We love him."

Captain Banzai glowed like a dung beetle rolling around the biggest turd on the savannah. "He he he, aw gee, you kids are too kind. Go right ahead."

Nala and Roho picked up their stones and bounded into the den. They entered through a cramped tunnel that descended about two yards into the earth, leading to a cozy den wrapped in earth and soothing darkness. Down here the air tasted cool and almost moist. There was something familiar about this place, about the smells and the way Sarabi's breath filled the chamber with every exhale. Somehow, being down here, Nala felt protected and loved. Sarabi lifted her head and smiled, though Nala thought her smile looked tired. In the darkness her eyes gleamed. "Oh, hello children. What brings you down here?"

"We brought you smooth stones," Nala said, nudging her stone toward Sarabi. Roho did the same. She watched anxiously, afraid Sarabi would hate them for being so plain and dry. Standing so close to her Nala noticed that she seemed to have put on some weight from staying underground for so long.

"Thank you, Nala. And you too, Roho." Sarabi cradled the stones to her chest and sniffed them. "These are lovely. Mmm, they smell like water."

Having carried her stone half-way back to Pride Rock in her mouth Nala was quite sure they smelled nothing like water but felt grateful for Sarabi's kind words. Roho piped up, "There were more. We dug up a whole bunch from the river bed but one of Scar's hyenas found us and chased us away. He said we were too little to be out there by ourselves and he was gonna report us to Captain Shenzi if we didn't do what he said."

"I'm sorry about that," Sarabi said sadly. "Scar's hyenas aren't very good at telling the difference between a cub and a juvenile. I'll make sure Captain Shenzi knows you two are old enough to be on your own, as long as you stay within sight of Pride Rock. Don't worry about the missing stones. I'm just glad to know you two are still thinking of me."

These words warmed Nala's heart. Although everyone respected Mufasa few Pridelanders loved him the way they loved Sarabi. "We miss you a lot. Everyone does."

"Auntie, how come you don't come out anymore?"

Sarabi rested her head on her forearm and gazed at them with her warm, ruby eyes half-closed. "I'm just tired."

This caused Roho to look alarmed. "Are you sick?"

Sarabi softly smiled. "No, dear."

"Are you hurt?"

The Queen chuckled. "I'm fine, Roho. Being Queen of the Pridelands is very stressful… especially with such a stubborn King." Nala and Roho stifled a pair of nervous smiles. "I'll be back to my old routine soon, I promise. Now let's talk. Roho, how you've grown!"

Roho blinked and looked at his paws as if Sarabi had said something startling. He awkwardly shuffled his feet and Nala giggled. Satisfied at having embarrassed her young nephew, Sarabi continued kindly, "Are you getting along with your sisters?"

He sighed glumly, "No. Mea gets all the attention and Bombu won't stop teasing me about my mane. I mean, not having one. She says I look like a girl."

"Nonsense. You're a handsome young lion."

Roho smiled modestly for a moment. "Plus, Ruka keeps scaring me."

Sarabi slightly raised her eyebrows. "Scaring you?"

"Yeah. Whenever I'm trying to relax or take a nap or – or do anything at all she sneaks up behind me and roars into my ear as loud as she can. I tell her and tell her to cut it out but she won't listen. She just laughs at me. That's why I hang out with Nala all the time. She's the only one who understands me."

"I'm sure they love you," Sarabi said unaffectedly.

Roho pawed at the earth. "No, just my mom, only half the time she's too busy with Mea and my sisters to notice me. And whenever I try and tell on them for picking on me they gang up and say I'm making up lies. It's not fair."

Sarabi listened attentively and Nala felt amazed by her ability to be sincerely sympathetic. Whenever she tried to show her friends sympathy she came off either patronizing or callous and sometimes needed to apologize for giving the wrong impression. After Roho finished talking she sat quietly for a moment, her eyes turned to distant plains, yet she never lost sight of the troubled cub in front of her. Finally, with an air of decisiveness, she spoke in gentle tones, "Nyonda tries her best. It's hard raising just one cub, let alone four. Siblings don't always get along but they always care for each other even if they have a funny way of showing it. It was always that way with Scar and Mufasa. In fact I believe that deep down inside he's still grieving."

"Then why did he make that stupid law?" Nala heard herself say. One month after Simba and Mufasa's death, shortly after his marriage to Sarabi, Scar created a new law that made it illegal to say Mufasa's name in his presence.

Sarabi sighed and flicked her tail. "Brothers are complicated. Scar is complicated. I don't know why he made that law, but he was very insistent upon it. Our pride has been critical of him ever since he welcomed the hyenas into our dens. Maybe he's afraid they'll compare him to his brother." She was about to add something else then seemed to give up. "But that's for another day. Now then, Nala, how have you been? Is Sarafina alright?"

Nala almost raised the subject of the hyenas. On second thought she decided to save it for another visit. The subject of Scar's hyenas seemed to depress her. "I'm doing fine. Mom misses you. If Scar's hyenas didn't make her hunt all the time she would come visit more often."

"I hope she doesn't mind leading the hunt without me." Leading the hunt was usually Sarabi's duty. Sarafina was second in command.

"Oh no, she _loves _bossing the other lionesses around," Nala exclaimed.

This lifted Sarabi's spirits and she chuckled, "Ah, that sounds like her. I miss her, too. Tell her I'll see her soon, okay?"

Nala beamed. "Of course! When will you be back?"

"Soon, I think," she answered vaguely. "I've been working on something these past few months. You'll have to wait and see what it is. By the way, how are your hunting lessons with Binti going?"

A surprise? Nala loved surprises. She hoped it was something for her mother, to make hunting easier. "Great, I caught my first rabbit yesterday! It almost tricked me but I outsmarted it."

"Wait until your first gazelle. They're clever. Did I ever tell you…"

At that moment another lioness crept down into Sarabi's den. Her dark pelt blended in with the earth, save for the white patches around her muzzle and eyes. She was long and lanky and her fur pock marked with the battle scars of a seasoned huntress. When she walked her body flowed out behind her like an ancient and powerful river. Sarabi and the two cubs all smiled at her presence and Roho gasped for joy, "Nana!"

"I thought I smelled cubs down here," Nana Uru cooed in her deep, rough voice. The two young lions bounded up to her and rubbed against her legs and she stroked them with her paw. "Nala and Roho, it's good to see you again. You're both looking fine and healthy."

"Thank you, Nana!" Roho and Nala said in unison.

Nala asked, "Nana, did you come to visit Sarabi, too?"

"More or less. We have important matters to discuss."

Nala gazed at Uru wondrously. All Nala's life Nana Uru had watched after the cubs of Pride Rock while their mothers went out hunting. When the hunting was done and every mouth fed she retreated from the pride to lie alone beneath the shade of an old boab tree. Sometimes she slept there, but just as often Nala caught a glimpse of her staring off into the horizon as if reminiscing about the wonders at the edge of the world. Perhaps she had been there once, for she seemed to know everything. On certain nights of the year the pride would gather around her under Pride Rock to hear her tell stories of the Kings of the Past: Ahadi, Mohatu, Zimwi, and others. There were other stories she told too, such as Anansi the Spider, a clever little spider who tricked everybody from lions to the sun and the moon and sometimes got away with it. Nala never thought of her as a lioness who would discuss 'important matters' with the Queen. Nana Uru always stayed out of politics, as far as she knew.

Before she could ask what she meant Uru gently shooed her and Roho away. Nala paused to glance over her shoulder as Nana Uru turned to Sarabi, but then Roho called to her and she scampered up the tunnel.

...

"_How are you feeling today, my Queen?"_

"_Restless."_

"_Good, that's normal. Have your contractions started yet?"_

"_No, not yet. I hope they will start soon, they've never taken this long before. Will my cubs be alright?"_

"_Yes. Hopefully this delay won't last much longer."_

"_I'm worried, Uru."_

"_That's alright. You had nerves when you had Binti and Chibi, too."_

"_They were my first litter. This is different. Giving birth is the least of my troubles. Will the pride accept them?"_

"_Of course they will, your cubs bring us joy. I believe you're doing the right thing."_


	3. Sensational News

The Great Kings of the Past looked down on the Serengeti in the misty morning, countless in number. Belly to the ground and eyes on the prey, young Nala crept up on a small herd of springbok grazing on the tough grass. She lifted her front paw slowly and put it down in front of her. Silent.

Her target was an old springbok with a broken horn and a slight limp in his front leg. The limp was unnoticeable to her, but her mother spotted it straight away. To Nala this springbok might as well have been a gemsbok. As she closed in on the herd, heart fluttering in her chest, she repeated a little poem in her head:

_My name is Crocodile._

_The grass is my pond_

_and I am only a log._

Sarafina taught her that poem on the week of her first hunting lesson with Binti, which had been taught to her by her mother Queen Mto of the Marshlands, and to Queen Mto by Sarafina's grandmother, and so on. All Marshlander cubs learned this poem to teach them how to stalk like crocodiles. There was nothing like it in the Pridelands; Binti taught by literal instruction and example, but Nala learned better by imagination. She helped the other cubs in her class learn to stalk like her but never shared her mother's poem, the key to her success. It was a secret that belonged only to mother and daughter, her special connection to a home she never knew.

_My name is Crocodile._

_The grass is my pond_

_and I am only a log._

_Crackle. _Her paw crushed a blade of brittle grass. A few of the springboks twitched but not the old one, whose hearing must be going bad. Nala's lungs expanded – _it's now or never!_

She sprang from cover and charged at the herd, letting out the loudest roar she could bellow. The springboks leapt into the air, darting like butterflies, so graceful she almost lost track of her goal. Putting herself between the old springbok and his herd she chased him toward the watering hole. Almost out of breath now. Just a little further. The old springbok flew away from her, far out of reach. He never saw the adult lioness lying in wait behind the large boulder ahead of them.

Sarafina leapt from cover and caught the old springbok's neck in her jaws. By the time they hit the ground the springbok was already dead, his neck snapped. She dropped the dead animal and turned to her daughter with a smile.

"We did it! That was incredible!" Nala screamed in joy. She bounded up to her mother and threw her forelegs around her neck. Her first real hunt was an enormous success, all thanks to her mother.

They had set out before sunrise to spend the morning together, before the hyenas started pestering Sarafina to hunt. Though she normally hated waking up so early once her mother told her plan for the hunt she dragged herself out of the den as quickly and gracefully as she could while half-asleep. It was the first time in weeks they managed to spend any quality time together. Nala ate most of the springbok, but after much insisting and waving around a springbok leg she finally convinced her mother to share a little of her kill. When the bones were picked clean they cuddled in a nest of tall grass and Sarafina pointed out King Zimwi's star, which she had never seen before.

Nala knew the story of King Zimwi by heart: the Marshlanders were dying of a terrible plague and King Zimwi was gravely ill, so he sent his eldest son Baako for help. Baako found Ahadi and the young king sent his shaman Rafiki to create a cure, ultimately saving the Marshlanders pride from destruction and creating a friendship that would last generations. In celebration of their new alliance Ahadi sent his daughter Thema to marry Baako in the Marshlands. Meanwhile Zimwi sent his daughter Sarafina, along with his nieces Eupe and Buibui, the three most promising young huntresses in the Marshland, to live in the Pridelands. Everyone in the Pridelands knew this story, but Nala knew it better than most because her mother had been telling it to her as a bedtime story since she was a cub. After hearing the same story so many times it got a little boring, even the part about the lionesses racing to find the right herbs for Rafiki's cure.

She asked her mother to tell a different story, something about when she was a cub. Sarafina thought for a little while and started to tell a story about the time she frightened her father by bringing a baby crocodile into her father's den to keep as a pet. Nala slept through the ending, but her mother promised to tell her again on another day. By the time she opened her eyes the sun was climbing over the horizon. It was time to go home.

As they neared Pride Rock Nala yawned and closed her eyes. If only she was still little enough for her mother to carry in her mouth she could go back to sleep right now. Suddenly her mother murmured, "What in the world…?"

She opened her eyes and started at the sight of the entire pride gathered out in front of Pride Rock. Hyenas paced and huddled close together in small groups along the fringes of the pride, ignoring the lionesses gathered haphazardly in the middle and talking passionately amongst themselves. Nala frantically scanned the scene. No, not the entire pride; Scar was missing along with Sarabi and Nana Uru. The last time the whole pride gathered together like this… she tried not to think about it… "Mom?"

"I don't know…" said Sarafina, her lips parted. Her ears lowered and she adopted a more cautious pace.

Just then the golden twins, Binti and Chibi, came bounding out of the crowd towards them. With vibrant golden fur, red-orange eyes, and tufts of unruly fur on the tops of their heads they resembled their lost little brother in appearance and spirit. Simba used to have a knack for telling them apart, despite doing his best to avoid their company. They were bratty teenagers then, spoiled princesses who would never carry the burdens of their mother and father, loving nothing more than to butt in on Simba and Nala's games (or so it seemed to her).

She only warmed up to the twins after Simba's death. All her old grudges vanished on the day of Simba's funeral when she found herself comforted in the twins' arms. Now that she had hunting lessons with Binti she liked them even more, even if she still couldn't tell them apart.

"Sarafina!" one of the twins called.

"Zazu's looking for you!" called the other, who might have been Binti. "He says he needs to give you a special message."

"Where is he? And what's going on?"

"He just flew out over the grassland. I'll go get him!" said the twin that might have been Chibi. She raced off.

Maybe-Binti continued at a manic pace, "You'll never guess what happened! Mom just had another cub!"

"What?" Sarafina's mouth fell open.

Of course Nala already knew about the birds-and-the-bees. Her mother explained it to her months ago, although even if she hadn't the hyenas were so indecent that she could have pieced the mystery together on her own. Did that mean Scar was the father?

She didn't know what to think of Scar. All she knew was that he was Mufasa's younger brother, an intelligent but cold lion with a reputation for being eccentric who for some reason sympathized with hyenas, which might have been his strangest and most off-putting quirk. She never understood why Sarabi chose to marry Scar in the first place other than the Queen's vague reply about 'duty', let alone why she decided to have another cub so soon. Maybe this cub was an accident. That should have made sense, but then why did Sarabi seem so pleased when she spoke to her in the cave? Was she simply relieved?

The conversation went on ahead of Nala's thoughts. Maybe-Binti explained, "Nobody knew she was pregnant, not even us. Now that the news is out everybody is talking about it. She must have been hiding it for weeks."

"Why would she hide it from us?" Sarafina frowned and shook her head with a snort. "Something's not right here. She would have told me if she was pregnant."

"Duzi thinks she hid it because uncle Scar isn't really the father and now that the truth is out they're making up a story to make it seem like the cub really is his. That makes me sad, you know. I don't think Sarabi would cheat on him like that."

"Oh please," Sarafina groaned, rolling her eyes. Duzi, the pride gossip, could always be relied on to make up outrageous stories and spin rumors at the drop of a leaf. Stepping out of her mother's shadow, Nala stood between them to join the conversation. "I saw Sarabi last night, she said she was working on something special. There's no way she would have said that if she was trying to hide something." Sarafina nodded in agreement.

As she thought about their conversation in the cave she realized Sarabi seemed more comfortable with her decision than she thought at first. Or at least it looked that way. Her mother explained that lionesses usually take three months to give birth, so she must have had time to accept her cub even if it was unexpected. There had also been time for Nala to accept Sarabi's marriage to Scar. When their marriage was announced she felt confused and angry, but after four months their marriage became another unfortunate fact of life like having to leave a warm den in the middle of a chilly night because your bladder is full. She realized a long time ago that feeling angry about it wouldn't do any good. Sarabi was still Sarabi no matter what.

"Have you seen her, Binti?" Sarafina asked. Despite knowing better than to believe in Duzi's rumors she still sounded suspicious.

Binti shook her head sadly. "No, mom's resting. The nursing den is scary, there are hyenas everywhere. I think Uncle Scar's down there, too."

Sarafina growled, "He shouldn't be down there. Males aren't supposed to intrude on a female after she's given birth."

"Well you know Uncle Scar. He's _so_ unconventional." After everything Scar did to change things she was a little surprised to see Binti fondly mocking him as though he was still nothing more than her funny uncle.

Her mother's ears flattened and she scoffed, "That's putting it lightly."

Taking advantage of the lull, Nala asked, "How do you know Scar's the father?" Her mother's suspicions made her think there must be more to this than she knew.

Binti replied, "That's what Zazu said."

"Zazu only says what the King tells him to say," said Sarafina harshly. "Since Scar took over I haven't trusted one word out of that little hornbill's mouth until I've seen the truth with my own eyes. You should be wary too, Binti. Just because he's your uncle…"

She frowned. "You don't know him, Sara. Uncle Scar's always taken care of us."

"I found him!" The three lionesses turned around, hearing Chibi racing up the path with Zazu flying behind her. She sat down beside them as Zazu came in for a graceful landing.

"Well it's about time! I've been looking for you two all morning," he squawked.

"Good morning to you, too," grumbled Sarafina. When Zazu wasn't looking Nala stuck out her tongue a little bit, causing Chibi to giggle. Zazu looked less than amused.

"Lady Sarafina, sarcasm is most unbecoming of you. I understand you wished to have an early morning outing with your daughter but as the King's Majordomo I would appreciate it if you let me know in advance, should anything come up."

"I'll be sure to do that. You had a message for us?"

"Indeed." He took a deep breath and spread his wings with a pompous flourish of blue feathers. "Lady Sarafina and Daughter Nala, Jewels of the Marshland, the Great King Scar cordially invites you to be his guests of honor at the Royal Presentation of Prince Kivuli. He wishes you to be seated beside members of the royal bloodline on the Throne of Pride Rock. The ceremony is to take place approximately one week from now or as soon as the Prince's eyes have opened. Please RSVP, The Great King Scar: dictated but not read."

Nala stared at him in blank bemusement. Once the message sank in she started to smile. The grown-ups used to gush about the Royal Presentation of Simba, an event they described with such vivid praise that even now she could scarcely imagine its beauty. Besides, she felt immensely curious about the new born cub – and even about Scar, only knowing him from the humorous stories Simba used to tell. Like Binti and Chibi Simba always seemed fond of his uncle, in spite of his strangeness. After Scar let the hyenas into the Pridelands her vision of him as a goofy old lion was shaken but she knew there had to be something positive about him. Or at least he had to be a very good liar.

Sarafina still had that suspicious look in her eyes. "Why us?"

"I'm sorry, he didn't say. If I had to guess I would surmise that you were invited because of your longstanding friendship with the royal family. After all you were invited as the Queen's guest of honor at the Royal Presentation of Binti and Chibi as well as the Royal Presentation of Simba."

"Yes, but those invitations came from Sarabi and while I was grateful for the gesture I declined both times. She knows how I feel about that."

"Oh, don't be so serious all the time! We'd love to have you there on the Throne with us, right Binti?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "And mom's going to love having you there, really!"

"Indeed, her Majesty would be delighted. Sarabi is no longer the shy young lady you met when you came to the Pridelands. There was a time when many of us believed you were better suited to the throne, but although you are indeed a capable leader the time of doubt has passed. One need not be born a princess to be a queen and her Majesty is living proof."

Sarafina was silent, but Nala was determined not to let this opportunity pass her by. If the bravest huntress in the Pridelands felt anxious about something that was usually enough for her, except that this time Binti and Chibi seemed perfectly fine with the idea. Whatever bug got under her mother's skin this morning Nala felt sure it was just fatigue from waking up so early in the morning. "I think it sounds like fun," she said a little defiantly.

Still uneasy, her mother turned to Zazu. "Will the hyenas be there?"

"But of course! The three Captains of the Guard are his Majesty's closest comrades."

Nala felt her excitement wane. "I don't care, I just want to meet Sarabi's new cub," she exclaimed, covering up her fear with bravado.

"As a matter of fact, Sarafina," said Zazu, "her Majesty would like to speak to you personally as soon as she is rested. If you wish, you may think it over until tomorrow morning." His tone suggested that the meeting would be important. Sarafina raised her eyebrows.

"Is something the matter?"

"Not at all! At least not that I know of… All I can say for certain is that her Majesty wishes to see you as soon as possible."

"Can I come, too?" Nala asked. She was eager to talk to Sarabi after everything that happened, but Zazu seemed hesitant.

"Well, I… I suppose so… But the conversation may be a bit boring for you. Lots of politics and that."

"That's okay!" she exclaimed happily. With her mother there to help maybe she could finally learn something interesting about her pride, something to make her feel like an adult. Maybe she could even figure out a way to help make things better for everyone. "Please mom! I'll be good, I promise."

Sarafina's eyes warmed lovingly, yet her expression only lasted for a short time before her face clouded with worry. Like all the adults in the pride her mother seemed increasingly worried about everything. Listening to the older lionesses talk about their problems with the hyenas and Scar was what inspired Nala to take an interest in the goings on about the pride, in the hope that she could find some way to contribute. Initially she only wanted their praise but as time went on she found herself thinking more and more about others and less about herself.

Finally her mother sighed. "Alright, you can come. Tell Sarabi we'll see her tomorrow morning."


	4. Listen to Teacher

**Author's Note: I apologize for being so late with this chapter. I got into an accident last Thursday and it set me back a while. I'm doing fine now, so chapters should resume on a regular schedule - unless school interferes.  
**

* * *

Life went on as usual. Her mother went back to the communal den to nap before today's hunt. Too excited to sleep, Nala only dozed for an hour or so when Ruka and her sister Bombu woke her for Binti's hunting lesson.

Before Simba passed away, Nala, Simba, Ruka, and Roho were known and feared by cub sitters everywhere as the perfect storm of Trouble: Nala the Clever, Simba the Prankster, Ruka the Daredevil, and Roho the Trustworthy. Roho made them successful. The moment Nala came up with a plan, Roho had already figured out ten ways it could go wrong. He wasn't the strongest, the smartest, or the bravest (certainly not the bravest), but as a lookout he was as thorough as he was paranoid and his wide, innocent eyes could disarm the most suspicious adults, and Simba always stood up for him when Ruka started picking on him. Until he died Nala never realized how much he did to keep the group together. With Simba gone Roho had no one to defend him from Ruka's teasing. Nala tried to take over Simba's role, but this pitted her against Ruka and the group's delicate balance was lost.

Now that Roho had his hunting lessons with Chibi, hunting lessons with Binti were just like old times for Ruka and Nala. On this day she was surprised to see Ruka in such a good mood. "How do you feel about the news? I know you were hoping to be queen."

Everyone expected Scar and Sarabi to name Ruka as their heir. Nyonda's cubs were next in line for the throne after Scar and out of all of them Ruka suited the throne best, being the oldest of her litter, the top of her hunting class, with a fiery soul and a courageous reputation rivaled only by Mufasa, and best of all, the daughter of Scar's cousin and Sarabi's adopted sister. Although she lacked wisdom and reservation the other lionesses felt confident Sarabi could smooth out her sharp edges in time. She even looked the part of a queen. Her sienna coat and dark eye-rims mimicked her mother, who also resembled Scar, and her crimson tail tuft flew boldly like Mufasa's mane. Her dark brow-spots and brown eyes made her unique amongst the Pridelanders.

"Pish, no skin off my nose. Being queen is too much responsibility anyway. I'd have to be Miss Goody Four Paws every day!" Despite her grandstanding, Nala detected bitterness in Ruka's voice. Nala made a mental note to ask Sarabi about her decision the next time she saw her. As they walked to the grassy field where Binti held class, Nala told her friends about her mother's special invitation and tomorrow's visit with Sarabi.

"I can't believe how lucky you are, Nala! I wish I was going to see the baby," Bombu whined.

"Is that _all_ you can talk about?" Ruka sighed at her little sister, who had been gushing about Kivuli all morning. "Don't you get it? This 'baby' is going to be the next king."

"I know! That makes her even more lucky! Can I come too, Nala? Pleeeease?"

Nala smiled at her bouncing friend. Bombu always managed to get a smile out of her, though she sometimes wondered whether her enthusiasm was genuine or a plea for attention. "Mom and Sarabi are just going to talk about politics and stuff. You probably wouldn't like it, but I'm sure Nyonda would take you if you asked."

"I did but mom only said 'maybe' and you know what that means," Bombu groaned.

"You'll still get to see him at the ceremony," she said. Suddenly her ears pricked and tilted toward the tall grass. Someone or something was rustling in the brush. She slowed and tried to see if Ruka noticed it too when a young lion leapt from the grass.

"I know, but it's so – ah!" Bombu screamed as the lion attacked her. Nala and Ruka jumped back just in time to avoid being caught in the scuffle as Bombu and her laughing attacker rolled through the grass. Recognizing the attacker, Ruka jumped in the air and laughed, "Yeah! Get her, Chumvi! Bite her ear!"

"Ow ow ow ow! No fair! I give up!" Chumvi climbed off of her with a victorious grin. As she got to her feet Bombu swatted sand at him. "That was mean, Chumvi! I wasn't ready!"

Ignoring her Chumvi trotted up to Ruka and the two friends swatted playfully at one another. Nala couldn't help but giggle. At one time she felt jealous of Chumvi for taking her place as Ruka's best friend, but now she was just happy they were all still together. "Come on you guys, we're going to be late."

Ruka and Chumvi looked at Nala and then at each other. "Bet I'll get there before you!" Chumvi dared and took off. Ruka raced after him, laughing and calling him a cheater.

Bombu groaned, "Ugh, those two are so obnoxious... Hey, wait!"

As Nala raced after Ruka and Chumvi she glanced her shoulder and called, "Come on, Bombu! You don't want to be last!"

…

They arrived on a flat, grassy plain overlooked by a dead tree that had fallen on its side during the last rain. Chumvi arrived first of course, having cheated to gain the lead, while Nala and Ruka came in a close second with Bombu not far behind. Standing on the trunk, Binti greeted them with a smile. Neema, the youngest member of their class, arrived next, her ungroomed fur sticking out in all directions. Binti scolded her for showing up dirty to practice again and sent the sulking youngster back to her mother for a bath. A brief look of guilt flashed across Binti's face as Neema sank into the distance. She hated being the bad guy, but Nala felt glad she finally put her foot down.

While they waited on Neema and Wezi, Nala, Ruka, Bombu and Chumvi warmed up for their lesson. Nala tried to appear aloof, going through the motions as usual, but the longer she waited the more composure slipped from her grasp. None of her friends knew what she and her mother were up to this morning. Bragging no longer appealed to her; she found private victories far more satisfying, so she happily kept her secret. Shortly after Binti's first roar signaling the start of the lesson Wezi came sprinting onto the field and stumbled up to the log, gasping for breath.

Wezi's mother Eupe joined the Pridelands with Nala's mother and her cousin Buibui, so when Eupe and Sarafina became pregnant around the same time they naturally decided to raise their daughters together. Although Wezi seemed like an older sister, Nala usually spent more time with Simba and his cousins Ruka, Roho, and their siblings, although she still felt very close to her. Wezi was sweet but unadventurous, as pure as her pale cream fur, a friend who loved long, interesting conversations over competition and rough-housing. Eupe once called her daughter an 'old soul.' Even though Nala didn't know what she meant the description stuck in her mind. Wezi felt more like an adult than anyone else her age, but unlike real adults Wezi happily listened to her ideas and treated her as an equal.

Not that she suffered for lack of competitive spirit. During their hunting games she was level headed and calculating. She might not be the quickest sprinter, but when opportunity came she rarely missed her mark.

"I'm… I'm sorry… for being tardy… Miss Binti," Wezi panted. _She must have run the whole way, _Nala thought unexpectedly. Wezi never showed up late before.

"That's alright, just have a seat and catch your breath. We're still waiting for someone."

"Th… thank you, Miss… Binti…"

Nala waited until Wezi caught her breath and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Mm-hm!" Wezi nodded vigorously. Nala frowned but didn't want to pry.

A few minutes later Binti roared for last call. While the air still rumbled they heard Neema shout from far away, "Wait for _meeee!"_ Neema skidded into the field, clean but dizzy from being out of breath. She apologized over and over for being late and begged to stay for the lesson between gasps.

"Alright Neema, but to make up for being late and showing up without a bath you have to play the part of our first prey animal."

"Awwwwww!" Neema bowed her head. Ruka and Chumvi giggled.

Today they would learn how to hunt in a basic formation. No hunt could succeed unless all the huntresses memorized their formations and knew their individual responsibilities by heart. There would be no one to help them if they forgot their role in the middle of a hunt, when communication needed to be kept to a minimum to keep the herd unawares. Nala fidgeted.

For their first lesson they would learn a simple two-lion formation good for hunting small prey. Binti separated class into groups of two: Bombu and Chumvi, Nala and Wezi, and finally Ruka and Neema. The first lion in each group would play the part of 'runner,' the second the part of 'pouncer,' and the pouncer from the last group would play the prey animal for the next group. Each round they would change roles and partners until they used every combination.

Bombu and Chumvi went first while Nala, Wezi, and Ruka watched from the log. While Bombu and Chumvi planned their attack Binti brought Neema out into the middle of the field and made her stand with her eyes on the ground like a grazing animal. She could listen for the hunters but could not look for them unless they made a sound. If Neema spotted them before Bombu started her run or if Chumvi's ambush failed Neema would win the round. Once she finished explaining the rules Neema suddenly looked cheerful again. Nala wasn't surprised. Being the prey sounded kind of fun.

The game was the same as Nala's first hunt with her mother. Bombu would startle the prey – Neema – and chase it toward Chumvi, who would hide and wait for the right moment to pounce. Bombu's hunt did not go well. Her paws kept crushing the grass and the noise seemed to get louder the harder she tried to be silent. Neema looked over her shoulder, looked Bombu right in the eyes laughed. Chumvi started to complain about being stuck with Bombu. "Chumvi, don't be rude," Binti scolded. "Bombu tried her best. You'll both get another turn soon. Nala and Wezi, it's your turn to hunt. Now Chumvi is the prey."

While Binti helped Chumvi into position and reminded him of the rules Nala ducked down and told Wezi her plan. Wezi didn't seem to be listening and kept glancing at her paws. Whatever was bothering her Nala hoped she could pull herself together. No way would she lose to Chumvi.

"Got it, Wezi?" she whispered. Wezi nodded distractedly. As she crept off toward the hiding place Nala picked out for her she began to worry. Once Wezi was in position Nala began sneaking through the grass. She turned her paws on their sides as she neared her target, just like her mother showed her. _And… now!_

"Woah!" Chumvi leapt into the air when she snapped at his back legs and took off with a mad dash.

From the log, Ruka cheered, "Run, Chumvi, run!"

Chumvi sprinted past Wezi's hiding place at full speed. After he was gone Wezi sat up, looking completely bewildered, and Ruka whooped for joy and cheered some more. Nala slowed to a jog and unconsciously bared her teeth as she caught her breath. "Wezi! What happened?"

"I'm sorry. He was just too fast for me," Wezi murmured with her ears down.

When Wezi's turn to be the prey came she barely even tried to outrun Ruka, who caught her before she reached Neema, which made Neema upset because she didn't get to do anything. She said little during class, which was not unusual, but Nala felt concerned by the glassy look in her eyes and her sudden lack of focus. Wezi seemed like another lion. After their lesson Nala caught up to her as she was leaving. Bombu joined them, also concerned by Wezi's strange behavior. Nala spoke first. "What's wrong, Wezi?"

Wezi looked away. She always seemed so calm and composed that to seeing her on the verge of tears filled her with fear and worry.

"Wezi…"

"Come on," Bombu coaxed. "We're your friends, you can tell us anything. We want to help."

Wezi closed her eyes and her face tensed up. Unable to go any further, she stopped and gave a shuddering sigh. "I don't know how to say this… This morning I heard mom talking to Buibui. She… she said that we might have to leave the Pridelands. She said she's tired of living here and she doesn't want Scar's son to be king because he'll just keep the hyenas around or worse. It's not fair! I don't like Scar either, but I this is my home!"

Bombu looked stuck. "What!? No way! I'm sure your mom didn't mean it! She's probably just upset because we were all hoping Ruka would be the next heir. My mom was upset too when she found out, but now she says it's probably for the best. You know, Scar's not the worst king. My mom says he's actually really smart. Eupe just needs to give him a chance."

Unlike Bombu, Nala never found herself swept up in the emotions of others. She kept her head even though she felt like shaking. Wezi was the only friend she had who made her feel like an adult. She couldn't lose her. She sat down close to Wezi and tried to console her, "Bombu's right. A lot of lionesses said they would leave but we're all still here. Even Huzuni never left the Pridelands."

"That's because they don't have anywhere else to go," Wezi said, trying not to choke on her own tears. "Mom said we would go back to the Marshlands. I've never been there before... I don't know anyone and – and…" Her voice shook with fright. Bombu looked like she might also cry.

Nala felt a lump in her throat. No matter how many stories their parents told, the Marshlands would never feel as much like home as the foot of Pride Rock. Of course they speculated about going there someday, only for a visit, and Wezi always added she would never want to stay permanently. She disliked change and her premature maturity meant few cubs could relate to her as well as Nala. Nala felt afraid too: afraid of losing another friend, the _only_ friend her age she could always rely upon when she needed to talk, but she felt even more afraid of letting Wezi and Bombu see her cracks. She would rather the whole world fall apart than let a single lion see her cry again. There had to be something she could do.

"Maybe my mom can help. She doesn't like Scar either, but she's staying for Sarabi and everyone else. Even if Scar is a lousy king Sarabi will always be here to protect us. I know she'll raise Kivuli to be a great king, just like Mufasa."

With Bombu leaning against her, Wezi tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "But what if my mother won't listen?"

"My mom's a princess. That means she has to listen to her, right?"

Her two friends looked at each other in silence. "Yeah, Nala's right. She has to listen. Everything's gonna be okay, you'll see," said Bombu, nosing Wezi's cheek reassuringly.

"You think so?"

Nala looked Wezi in the eyes. There was nothing she could have done to save Simba's life. This time her circumstances were different. She would not lose another friend. "I promise mom will set Eupe straight. Let's go talk to her right now."

Wezi struggled to compose herself. She bit her lip and nodded slowly in silent thanks.

…

Nyonda stretched out under an acacia tree. Draped limply over her mother's shoulders, Bombu's little sister, Mea, slept deeply with one leg hanging off Nyonda's side, almost touching the ground. Mea would soon be too old for lying on top of her mother like a cub, though Nyonda looked too placid to do anything about it.

During the wet season Simba, Roho, Ruka and Nala spent many lazy afternoons here on the western rise of Pride Rock, playing in the shade and climbing the acacias while their parents napped in the cool shadows. Once Nala and Wezi had climbed high into one of these trees with Kula and Moto and formed a secret club so they could make their jealous friends do ridiculous things when they wanted to join. Now the acacias were baking in the heat of the dry season, their branches brittle, and an acrid breeze swept the barren ground. A small group of hyenas gathered under one of the nearby trees. Bombu and Wezi eyed them warily, but Nala quickly forgot them. She needed to find her mother.

Nyonda blinked blearily. "Hmm… I saw her headed toward the hyena dens with Buibui and Pamba less than an hour ago."

Nala's tail drooped. "So she's hunting…"

Beside her, Wezi wrinkled her brow and Bombu gave her a worried look. If Sarafina was hunting Wezi might not be able to speak to her until tomorrow.

Nyonda yawned and flexed her toes. "Not exactly. She wants to convince Mama Kishenzi to form her own hunting party. If she had Sarabi she might have a better chance, but there's nothing to be done about that. She needs her rest."

Mama Kishenzi, the one-eyed queen of the hyenas. Despite her fears, Nala felt a spark of hope knowing her mother had not yet reached the savannah. "Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Mm, she didn't say. Would you like to wait with me until then?"

Nala had never seen Wezi this anxious before. If her mother could just say a few comforting words she knew she would feel better, but every conversation her mother had with the hyenas ended the same way, with hunting. Waiting with Nyonda would accomplish nothing if her mother planned to meet her hunting party after seeing the hyena queen. There was only one way. She drew herself up. "In that case, I'll go make sure she knows we're here."

Nyonda's eyes finally opened all the way. "Now Nala…"

She must have heard that tone a million times before. _Stay away from the hyena dens, Nala. It's just as bad as the Elephant Graveyard, Nala. _As if she didn't know any better. "I promise I'll keep a safe distance and wait until mom and the others leave. If I don't catch them they won't be coming back until after dinner. Please Miss Nyonda, this is really important."

Nyonda drew a tense breath. Nala held her's. "Well… alright…"

Before she could finish Nala sprinted down the slope. As she ran she heard Nyonda call, "But be _careful!_"

"I will - thank you!"

Scar's hyenas lived in the rock tunnels on the western side of Pride Rock, near the royal chamber where the King held counsel in a cave beneath the peak of Pride Rock. Before the hyenas came Nala went exploring the rock tunnels with Simba on a dare from Chumvi. The tunnels were old and unstable, an easy place for a cub to get lost or trapped or in deep trouble with their parents – the perfect proving ground. Now only Scar walked freely on the hyena's ground but never in the tunnels, too cramped for an adult lion.

_Just like hunting practice with Binti, _Nala reassured herself. As she neared the boulders that protected the rock tunnels she slowed to a trot and crouched low until the grass covered her. From there she could make out the shapes of four lionesses standing in front of a boulder: Pemba, Buibui, and her mother, but who was the forth? Gathered around them, a crowd of about a dozen hyenas glared at the lionesses while above them, perched on the boulder itself, stood two enormous hyenas, one of them Mama Kishenzi. Even from a distance everyone looked tense. She could just barely make out the immense displeasure in Kishenzi's voice. Nala crept closer and strained her ears.

"… no food… suffering… The Sootfoot clan…" _What? Is that their name?_ Curious, she crept even closer.

An enormous, silvery-grey hyena whose black spots seemed to leap off her fur like evil spirits stared down the four lionesses with one yellow, hate-filled eye. Kishenzi looked like a carcass that refused to die. Though not directed at Nala, the hyena queen's gaze turned her insides to ice. Fear prevented her from moving any further, but luckily she could make out more words.

"… for sympathy, but where was your sympathy when… our children? You ask for reason, but where was your reason when Mufasa… stinking graveyard?"

The unidentified lioness spoke and Nala realized with a shock that the voice belonged to Nana Uru. "… paid for the mistakes of the past. Let us work together to mend these wounds."

"It's too late for that!" the second hyena snapped. That was Captain Shenzi! The hyenas yipped in chorus and one of the lionesses shook her head in disgust while the others whipped the air with their tails. Shenzi waited until the hyenas quieted down and shouted, "You lions think you're so damn noble, using all those pretty words. I got some news for you. Words don't bring back the dead!"

The hyena's howling laughter rose higher and stabbed her ears even as she flattened them against her head with a grimace. As the hyenas dispersed Nala felt a sense of relief. _What was that all about? And what's Nana doing here?_

No time to think about that. Sarafina and the others were already heading toward the savannah. Nala realized that she was right, her mother had sent her hunting party on ahead and now they were going to meet them. She made a run for it. Sarafina stopped and looked behind her. "Nala?"

"Mom, wait!" After catching her breath, she passed on everything Wezi told her while Buibui looked on disapprovingly. Nala fed off of it and glared back. Buibui deserved to feel ashamed for wanting to take Eupe's daughter away from the Pride Lands. She felt so excited and proud of herself that she finished talking before she noticed her mother's stern expression and froze like a startled gazelle. Sarafina asked Pamba and Buibui to go on ahead of her.

"The next time you hear about something like this, don't say a word to anyoneuntil I come home. Do you realize how much trouble you could have caused? What would have happened if one of those hyenas followed us and heard what you said?"

Her mother's harsh question hit her like a ton of rocks. She suddenly found herself remembering the hyenas' unprovoked attack on Laini that cost her most of her right ear. Was it because she wanted to leave, too? "I… I didn't think…"

"You need to be more cautious now. The Pridelands aren't safe anymore. We'll talk more about this later. Go back to Pride Rock and stay with Uru until I return."

Nala's head was spinning. Why would the hyenas care who wanted to leave? Didn't they hate lions? What if those hyenas resting near Nyonda overheard Wezi and Bombu talking? "But what about Wezi?"

"She's your responsibility. I'll talk to Eupe and Buibui, but right now I have more important things to do. Stay with Uru and don't say a word."

"But –!" She started to follow her mother. She had only taken a few steps when Sarafina broke into a run, shrinking into the distance while Nala stood on the bleak plain, jaw slack.

Nala startled and saw Uru's ancient green eyes looking down on her. She turned away, biting her lip. _How long have I been standing here? Everything is so messed-up. Oh, Wezi… I'm so stupid. _

Together they walked back to the western ridge of Pride Rock. Uru moved with slow, graceful steps, and Nala silently thanked her for the saunter. She had forgotten her curiosity about why Uru went to see the hyenas. All she could think about was Wezi and what might happen to her mother because of her. _I only wanted to help…_


	5. The Night of Tales

Back at the ridge the hyenas Nala saw earlier were sleeping. She counted them anxiously, trying to remember how many there were before she left, but because she was in such a hurry to find her mother she never bothered to count them in the first place, leaving her with only crude guesses.

"I'm sorry Wezi, I couldn't get my mom to come."

Wezi shrank a bit. "That's okay, as long as she talks to my mom," she said, clearly disappointed. Her tears had dried now but her expression showed obvious signs of stress.

Nala felt like she might throw up. "Did you mention anything to Nyonda?" she asked quietly.

"Bombu told her everything. Is something the matter?"

She didn't know what to say. How could she admit to putting Wezi in danger? "Nothing. It's just… I don't think we should talk about this anymore. In front of others, I mean."

To her surprise Wezi nodded in agreement. "Oh yes, I made Nyonda promise to keep this between the four of us. I don't want the attention. The lionesses talk about Laini and Huzuni behind their backs all the time and I think it's awful."

That almost made Nala smile. Thank goodness for that. Now if only Bombu could keep her mouth shut they might be okay... unless Pemba talked. And just like that Nala's guilt rose up again.

"Nala…?"

Nala looked up with a jerk. She felt a bit dazed. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired. How are you holding up?" If she could focus on something else maybe she could push these black thoughts from her mind before they consumed her. Wezi, too, seemed eager to move onto a more pleasant subject. Neither of them liked to be seen looking upset.

Before long Mea woke up with a big yawn. Nala resented her for being oblivious to the drama unfolding around her, just as she resented herself for her former ignorance. She wished she could tell Bombu and Wezi the truth so they could protect themselves but she was too afraid of what might happen if the hyenas overheard her. She wondered if Nyonda and Uru knew as much as her mother and reasoned that, because of her life experiences, Uru must have an even better understanding of what was going on in the Pridelands than her mother. The old lioness smiled playfully at Mea and said, "Resting for the Night of Tales?"

During the excitement Nala completely forgot about the Night of Tales. They took place on the first full moon of each month, when the stars shined brightest. On these nights Nana Uru gathered the entire pride at the foot of Pride Rock to listen to a tale from the past. She usually looked forward to the Night of Tales.

Soon it was time to leave. Uru led her away from the ridge toward a small cave in Pride Rock where she enjoyed resting on hot days, where they would wait for Sarafina to finish her hunt. Nala could not stop thinking about everything she observed today. "Nana? Are the hyenas… bad?"

She tried to phrase the question covertly so Uru wouldn't realize what she was thinking. She was too afraid to say it out loud. The old lioness was silent for a long time. Her thoughts were never hurried. At last she said, "No. All creatures have their place in the Circle of Life."

"Mom says they can't be trusted."

Uru gave a slight nod. "They have every reason to hate us, our old enemies, but that does not make them evil." She looked at Nala pointedly. "Do you think the antelope call us monsters?"

That question never occurred to her before. From Uru's tales about the Great Kings of the Past she knew that all the animals in Africa from antelopes to zebras could speak and were (to some degree) intelligent, but she never considered their feelings before. "I guess so… but don't we help them, too?"

"Yes, without us there would be too many plant eaters and not enough plants for them to eat." Nana Uru smiled proudly. "You've been paying attention to my stories. Do you know why the hyenas are important? They're able to eat parts of a carcass we cannot, even bones and rotten flesh. Without death eaters disease would be everywhere. Their job is much more important than many Pridelanders realize. Scar was one of the first to see it."

This was the first time Nala ever heard someone speak positively about the hyenas. Coming from someone as old and wise as Nana Uru this was an enormous shock, but what she said made sense. Sort of. "Then why did they attack Laini?"

"You don't understand how much we have hurt them," Uru said somberly. "That's why tonight's story is so important."

Nala tried to convince Uru to say more about tonight's story, but she only told her to be patient, for she did not like repeating herself unnecessarily. When the huntress's call rang out over the Pridelands it was nearly sunset. Nala, Uru, and the rest of the pride joined together at the kill. King Scar ripped off one of the animal's legs to bring to Sarabi before the cubs were allowed to eat. Having eaten an enormous meal early in the morning, Nala declined the meat so her friends could have more. She expected her mother to take her aside to talk about what happened earlier today, but Sarafina was too tired. After the stars came out the pride gathered around Uru for the Night of Tales.

"The Night of Tales has come again! The Great Kings of the Past look down on us tonight as we honor their memory. May they guide us through our daily trials with wisdom and serenity."

All the lions roared, the hyenas cackled and whooped, and the birds tweeted ecstatically. Everyone in the pride gathered at the base of Pride Rock, except Sarabi, keeping Kivuli warm in her den, and of course Huzuni. Other animals showed up, too: Ambaza, the quickest gazelle, and Kigugu, the wiliest zebra, came to pay respects to the queens and huntresses who valiantly tried and failed to catch them. Duma the cheetah came with her three fuzzy cubs and her mate, Baridi. In the past only a few hyenas attended the Night of Tales, but tonight almost the entire clan was in attendance, save those on patrol. Uru sat on a boulder and at its base Scar and his nieces, Binti and Chibi, looked up to her. The three captains, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, sat beside to the king along with Zazu. Rafiki reclined in the branches of a nearby acacia. Next to Nala and Sarafina, Nyonda sat with her cubs. Roho, as always, put Nala between himself and Ruka, who always got bored during Uru's stories and found ways to annoy him. To their left sat Chumvi's mother, an older, darkly colored lioness called Halali, and his sister Moto. The pale, childless Nana Laini with the torn ear and sad expression sat next to her sister, Cheka, and her cubs Kula and Amiri. Eupe and Wezi sat next to Buibui on the opposite side of the circle from Nala. While the two adults cast her nasty looks, only Wezi looked to Nala with sympathy. Combined with Pamba, her daughters Neema and Zuia; Duzi, Zito, and Shaba, there were twenty-seven lions present, thirty in total counting Huzuni and Kivuli. Nala knew all of them.

"Tonight's tale is a recent one. Many of you still remember when it happened, but few know the whole story. This is also a story I know many of you do not want to hear, would rather it be forgotten. Shame on you who would bury the past! We should not turn our backs on the past but look to it with open hearts and minds that we might improve our present and better our future! With the blessing of King Scar, tonight we hear the tragedy of Mufasa and the Sootfoot Clan."

Tension migrated through the crowd. Even Kigugu stomped his hoof. Uru carried on, undeterred.

"Long ago, during the reign of King Mohatu, a nomadic hyena clan came to the Pridelands. They asked Mohatu for sanctuary, for they were tired of wandering and longed for a paradise to rest their paws. Kind King Mohatu granted their wish on one condition: the Sootfoot clan's solemn vow to never harm a lion on Mohatu's land. So for nearly three generations, the Sootfoot clan and the Pridelanders lived together in relative peace. Mufasa became king and Prince Taka his advisor and ambassador to the Sootfoot clan.

"Of course, natural rivals can never co-exist in complete harmony. The Sootfoot clan raided our kills whenever they could, though they kept Mohatu's pact. While Mufasa viewed them with contempt Taka learned their ways and grew to respect them and their place in the Circle of Life. Our tale begins on a mild afternoon during the wet season. Queen Sarabi's hunting party had just brought down a water buffalo and the cubs were arriving to eat. Distracted by the smell of fresh meat, none of the lionesses realized that one cub was missing…"

…

_ Laini found the body first. The body was not a body; the body was missing, but somehow it helped to call it a body, to imagine that the cub was somehow whole. She stared disbelievingly at 'the body'. Then she let out a roar, half a sob. Little Amadi was dead._

_ No one knew who to blame for Amadi's death at first. Some blamed the nanas for failing to do a head count when they gathered the cubs. Amadi seemed to have wandered off before he died, for he was found far from where Binti, Chibi, and the others last saw him. Others focused on the smell of the Sootfoot clan where the body was found. Amadi's mother was too devastated to draw any conclusions. She curled up around her boy as if to comfort him and remained by his side even after the other lionesses had left. Sarabi finally convinced her to come back to Pride Rock. She tried to carry Amadi's remains home, but he fell apart in her mouth and she was forced to leave him with a choked whimper and tears rolling down her cheeks._

_ When dawn came Amadi's mother was missing from the communal den. Mufasa and Sarabi found her lying on the cliff of Pride Rock gazing at the sunrise, her whiskers and chin speckled with dry hyena blood, pale blue eyes as cold as death. "I had no choice," was all she said._

_ Less than an hour after dawn Mama Ifuifu, Matriarch of the Sootfoot clan, traveled to the foot of Pride Rock with her two bodyguards, where she demanded to speak to King Mufasa. Mufasa and his tactful advisor, Taka, saw her in the royal chamber beneath the throne of Pride Rock. The young King stretched out on a slab of rock that resembled a large boulder cleaved in half. His sturdy, relaxed frame looked as imposing as the enormous stone on which he lay. Beside him on the floor of the cave sat his younger brother, the Prince, whose pointy brow came almost to Mufasa's front paw. Seated to the side of them Queen Sarabi, the Old Queen Uru and her sister, Princess Johari, provided counsel. The King rose, towering above them. "Why have you come, Ifuifu?"_

_ Mama Ifuifu stopped abruptly, one paw still in the air, her nose wrinkled. Her two bodyguards tensed. "Excuse me, have I been accused of a crime?"_

_ "Not you – your clan. Last night Laini found one of our cubs dead, devoured by hyenas. Taka and I were just discussing what should be done."_

_ "I did not know…" said Mama Ifuifu, raising her eyebrows. Then her expression hardened. "One of my daughters, Kuleni, was killed by a lioness early this morning, along with her entire litter of pups. A witness said she was one of your's." _

_ Mufasa glanced at his brother, who was watching him attentively out of the corner of his eye. "I'm afraid that's true," said Taka somberly. "Of course her identity must be kept secret to prevent more vigilante justice."_

_ "So _you_ will see to her punishment?" Mama Ifuifu said doubtfully. Mufasa and Taka exchanged furtive glances._

_ Amadi's mother had already been sent to Rafiki's tree, escorted by Sarafina and Eupe. Mufasa hoped Rafiki would have some healing herbs to calm her shattered mind. The King turned to Mama Ifuifu. "No, I cannot punish a grieving mother." _

"_All my subjects are my sons and daughters. We do not separate our people by blood as you do. I do not know what my clan is accused of, but I do know one of your lionesses is responsible for the deaths of Kuleni and her six pups."_

_ Mufasa's deep growl echoed through the chamber. "The mother has been punished enough! There is nothing worse I can do to her than what has been done by _your _clan – think about that before you open your mouth. The only one who deserves punishment is Amadi's killer."_

_ The Matriarch scoffed. "You have no proof."_

_ "On the contrary, your clan's scent was all over the body," Taka interjected._

_ "Show me."_

_ "Mama Ifuifu, you know there's no point in showing you the body," said Mufasa, struggling to be diplomatic. "Even if there is anything left the carcass would have been picked over by countless other scavengers by now. The scent is gone."_

_ "Then you have no proof. Now what will you do about Kuleni's killer?"_

_ "We cannot punish Kuleni's killer because she was not sane when she committed the crime," Mufasa snarled. _

_Taka sighed at his brother, "Mufasa, this is pointless. Amadi's mother has taken her pound of flesh, surely that's enough."_

_ "You still have no proof!" Mama Ifuifu growled. "My people are the eaters of the dead. We have the right to any carcass – no matter the species. Even if our scent was on the body – which I do not concede – you do not know that my people killed him. He may have already been dead. If that is the case then we have done nothing wrong. Am I right?"_

_ "She is correct, Mufasa," Taka murmured._

_ "We know that Ahadi was killed by a predator. He died in terror with his eyes open. No predator would abandon a body after killing it. His body was also found far away from the place where he was last seen alive. He must have been moved in an attempt to hide his body."_

_ "That is your proof? With respect, your Majesty, you know nothing of the dead. If Amadi was bitten by a cobra he could have wandered off in a delirium and collapsed. Cobra venom causes paralysis, which would have forced his eyes open as he died." _

_ The royal family silently considered this. Finally, Taka spoke up. "That is possible. Perhaps we should send Zazu to scout the area and search for cobra dens."_

_ "That would still not prove the Sootfoot clan's innocence," said Mufasa._

_ "But it would provide reasonable doubt."_

_ Mufasa turned to Sarabi. "You were leading the hunt when Amadi died. What do you think?"_

_ "The hyenas have been harassing our hunting parties. I spotted several in the area before we brought down our water buffalo. They could have snatched Amadi up in the time it took to kill our prey and gather the pride."_

_ "So you believe the hyenas are responsible?"_

_ Taka interrupted, "In my opinion these scenarios are both equally likely. Laini could have been mistaken when she said the body looked as though it had been hidden and we have no witnesses. Mama Ifuifu also brings up an excellent point: the law does allow hyenas to scavenge on any species, including lions, so their scent cannot be used against them. There is simply not enough evidence to punish the Sootfoot clan."_

_ Mufasa asked the two elder lionesses for their opinions. Uru agreed with Taka while Johari agreed with Sarabi. "If the Sootfoot clan is responsible, we cannot allow them to get away with this or they will do it again."_

_ Finally Mufasa asked Mama Ifuifu for time alone to deliberate. When Mama Ifuifu returned with her bodyguards Mufasa had come to a decision: the Sootfoot clan would not be punished for Amadi's death if Mama Ifuifu returned in three days with Amadi's killer. Their pact with Mohatu would remain intact and only the killer would be punished. Mama Ifuifu protested and Taka once again took her side, but Mufasa would not be persuaded. He sent the hyenas away. _

_ Over the next three days Taka traveled to the Sootfoot clan, where he attempted to convince Mama Ifuifu to give Mufasa what he asked for in order to preserve the peace, but Ifuifu refused to sacrifice even a single member of her clan. Impressed with Mama Ifuifu's resolve, Taka returned to Pride Rock in the hopes of convincing his brother to pardon the Sootfoot clan. In spite of his plea Mufasa remained stubborn. On his last visit to the Sootfoot clan Mama Ifuifu thanked him for all his help and warned him that tomorrow would be a day of reckoning at Pride Rock. He attempted to inform Mufasa of Ifuifu's threat, but the king was so tired of listening to his brother plead on behalf of the hyenas that he dismissed his warning out of paw. At sunset Mufasa led six of his best huntresses, Sarafina, Buibui, Hlali, Ukali, Kipanga, and Zito, to the dens of the Sootfoot clan and attacked them. He intended to drive them out of the Pridelands once and for all._

_ By the time the stars came out Mama Ifuifu was dead, yet the Sootfoots continued to fight. Suddenly the lions were distracted by a distress call coming from Pride Rock. Having never visited the Sootfoot clan before Mufasa had only a vague idea of their numbers, so when he arrived to fight them he had no idea over half the clan was missing. The other half had gone to Pride Rock. Mufasa and his huntresses fought valiantly to escape the warriors of the Sootfoot clan and Kipanga perished in the escape. No one can recall how long the battle lasted, but with the help of Mufasa and the remaining huntresses the Pridelanders chased the Sootfoot clan from Pride Rock and finally banished them from the Pridelands. However, the battle was not without other losses. Johari, Mufasa's aunt, died in the fighting. Several cubs were also lost and Sarabi was badly injured. While Rafiki healed her Sarabi told Mufasa that Scar had taken Uru, Binti and Chibi away from Pride Rock just before the fighting started. He did not return with them until early in the morning._

_ Mufasa summoned Taka to the throne of Pride Rock with a furious roar. Taka stood proudly before his brother. "Where were you when the Sootfoot clan attacked?" Mufasa demanded.  
"I was protecting mother and my nieces. I tried to take Sarabi and Johari with me, but they refused despite my warnings."_

_ "Why did you not return to fight?"_

_ Taka glared at his brother in silence for a moment. "Because it was _wrong, _brother," he said so everyone could hear. "The Sootfoot clan was innocent. Your contempt forced them to this extreme. If it were not for you, Johari would still be alive! You are the murderer!"_

_ "SILENCE!" Mufasa roared, striking Taka across the face so hard that he flew to the ground. When Taka rose, panting and shivering in shock, blood seeped from the deep gash left by Mufasa's claws. All of Pride Rock fell silent. "I would banish you for cowardice had you not saved my mother and daughters! Instead, this scar shall be a permanent reminder of your betrayal. By my royal degree, you are no longer Prince Taka. From now on you shall be known only as 'Scar.'"_

_ The prince slunk away. The following morning a funeral was held for Kipanga, Johari, and all the others who died defending Pride Rock. Finally, the Sootfoot clan was officially banished to the Elephant Graveyard on penalty of death, where they suffered in hunger and thirst for the next two years._

…

"Most of you only remember Scar's punishment. Now all of you know what came before. Mufasa was a great king, no one can deny this, but even legends make mistakes. Mufasa was wrong to attack the Sootfoot clan and by inviting them into our home, King Scar hopes to make amends for the past. That is why we should all stand beside him."

"Thank you, mother," Scar purred. He stood in front of Uru's boulder and looked over the crowd with his vivid green eyes. "My brother is watching over all of us now and I know that he regrets his mistake. On the last day of his life he told me he was sorry for the way everything turned out. He would have taken it all back, if he could."

The animals dispersed as the pride returned to their dens. Nala and her mother walked at the back of the group. Up until now Nala had no idea that Nana Uru was the same as the Old Queen Uru. Though that in itself presented many questions, she was more concerned with what happened to the Sootfoot clan. She felt a little better about herself knowing that even someone as great as Mufasa could make mistakes, though she still felt terrible for Scar, who had to suffer at the paws of his own brother when he thought he was doing the right thing. Now that she knew the truth she understood why the hyenas attacked Laini and why her mother thought they were plotting against them. Uru and King Scar seemed to believe they could learn to live together. Nala wondered if they were right. Her mother looked angry, so she didn't ask for her opinion. Maybe Sarabi would answer her questions tomorrow.


	6. We'll Soon be Connected

**Author's note: This may be my last chapter for a while. I'm fighting off a cold and finals are coming up. I'll try to put up chapter 7 next Sunday (the 9th) but I make no promises on that.**

**If you've read this far, please R/R. I'd love to hear your opinions.  
**

* * *

Before sunrise Nala bolted awake with a scream that woke both Sarafina and Roho, who was again avoiding his snoring sister. "I-it was just a bad dream. I'll be okay," she stammered, pretending to go back to sleep.

In her dream she and Roho were lying under the shade of the acacia tree by the dry riverbed watching Huzuni's mirage in the distance. But this time Huzuni was crying. It was the worst sound Nala ever heard. They tried to reach her so they could comfort her but somehow every step they took only drew out the distance. Huzuni seemed to drift further and further out of reach even as her sobs grew louder. Then she heard something behind her and saw three hyenas on their tail. When she turned around Huzuni was suddenly in front of them. Hyenas were leaping on top of her and tearing out her flesh as she screamed. Nala and Roho could only watch. The next thing she remembered the hyenas were closing in on them with teeth bulging out of their dripping maws.

Nala lay awake until the sun's rays warmed her face, still thinking about her dream. Nana Uru once told her that some dreams have special meanings. Sometimes dreams are the Great Spirit's way of telling you about something important that happened in the past or that will happen in the future. You could always tell which ones to pay attention to because they made you feel a certain way, she said. Was this one of those dreams?

_No, just a nightmare. Everybody has nightmares. _

Nonetheless, she felt relieved when her mother finally woke. They went down to the watering hole for a morning drink and Roho tagged along because his family was still asleep and he didn't want to be left alone. She didn't tell them about her nightmare. Roho followed them to the nursing den behind Pride Rock. A few hyenas gathered there as if holding a vigil along with a sleepy looking Captain Banzai, holding his post as always. Seeing this Roho decided to go back to the den to see if his mother was awake yet.

As they descended into the den Nala's fur prickled. She glanced at her mother and it was clear she smelled it too: there was a male in Sarabi's den.

In the main chamber the King and Queen laid side by side, their tails intertwined. Scar's darker tail swooped under Sarabi's and draped around her ankle. To her the tail seemed like a poisonous snake. Even when Mufasa was alive she never saw them together like this, there was something almost obscene about it. Sarabi lifted her head, revealing a dark, fluffy furball nestled in her arms. Scar stretched out his toes and yawned, digging his black claws through the dirt.

Sarafina plodded over to the Queen and hesitantly bumped heads with her, keeping one eye on Scar. Nala did the same. Looking up she saw Scar watching them and felt the urge to curl up in submission under his heavy gaze. Averting her eyes toward the cub in Sarabi's arms, Nala noticed his fur was dark and spotty and undistinguished. He was the most defenseless looking thing she ever saw.

Sarabi smiled. "It's so good to see you, Sara."

"It's good to see you, too. I wasn't expecting…"

"I know. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. These are difficult times for us…"

Sarafina nodded perplexedly. Scar looked fondly at his queen and said, "Don't fret my dear, I'll explain everything. As you know my reign has gotten off to a rather 'controversial' start. We feared that once the pride knew of her pregnancy they would make a monster of our cub before he was even born." His voice dropped dramatically into a pit of melancholy. "I wish it didn't have to be that way. You may think I don't know the things the lionesses say behind my back but I do… I do. Of course we have to protect our children. It's far easier for them to hate the _idea_ of Scar's son than a newborn cub with the breath of life still fresh in his tiny lungs."

Sarabi added, "We decided it would be best to tell as few animals as possible until our son was born. Only Uru knew. I hope you can forgive me."

Something in her mother seemed to give and her eyes sank. She looked at Sarabi and Sarabi looked at her. There was sadness in Sarabi's eyes, that much was clear, but there was something more too and try as she might Nala could not make sense of it. During their short silence the air seemed to grow heavier. She also noticed Scar looking at Sarafina with an unreadable yet somehow oppressive gaze. Nala realized that he was paying very close attention to everything. "Sarabi, you know why some of the lionesses want to leave. This cub won't fix that," Sarafina said sadly.

"Then what will?" asked Sarabi. Sarafina fell silent. Nala, too, didn't know what to say. She wanted the pride to stay together as much as they did. The Queen continued calmly, "We cannot simply get rid of the hyenas. Even if we commanded them to leave they would refuse and they outnumber us three to one. I won't risk lives to evict them when they haven't done us any harm."

"In fact they're an asset to us," Scar interrupted. "Less than a year ago patrolling the boarder was left up to the King and a mere handful of lions. Now with the hyenas here we have the protection of a full-time border patrol. Nothing can touch us; our cubs are safer than ever."

Sarafina did not look impressed with this. Nala watched her closely, expecting her to object again, but she said nothing. Sarabi said, "New life has always brought us together. Now that my son is here our lives can finally return to normal."

"Do you really think he can replace Simba?" It was a hard question that Sarafina delivered like a soft tap. Even she winced a little.

"Nothing can ever replace Simba." Sarabi's said somberly. "But our pride needs a prince. How can my subjects believe in a bright future if we can't show them a light?"

Now Nala saw her first chance to interject. "How come you didn't make Ruka the heir? Or Binti?"

Sarabi did not look offended by her spritely question, though her mother cast her a disapproving glance. "That's alright, Sara. Nala has a right to know these things. Binti was never raised to be a queen – neither was Chibi. Since they were girls I wanted them to grow up with the choice to rule or not, as I did." She smiled at Sarafina. "Ruka would make an excellent queen if she could learn to control her impulsiveness and temper. With Kivuli we're beginning with fresh earth. Besides, I missed having cubs. Scar wanted to be a father."

Something stirred in Nala's heart and she suddenly understood. There had been something missing from the Pridelands and it was not merely the dead. No cubs had been born since Mufasa and Simbas' deaths. The Pridelands seemed devoid of joy, only the hyenas laughed. When Nala felt happy here the feeling was short lived with a bitter afterglow. She lived in the stagnation for so long she forgot that the Pridelands used to be a place of ease and happiness. She looked at the cub dozing in Sarabi's arms and wondered if he could really change things.

"Kivuli, that name means _shadow _doesn't it?" Sarafina asked.

"Yes," Scar rumbled with pride. "For how like a shadow he shall follow in his father's paw prints and bring glory to the Pridelands. Ho ho, he's such a handsome little boy. Don't you agree?"

Sarafina nodded passively.

Now Scar turned to her. She pressed her lips together awkwardly and looked again at the baby. 'Handsome' was not the word that sprang to mind. However, with Scar looking on expectantly, she couldn't risk being so blunt. "I guess so. I've never seen a newborn before."

Scar grinned with satisfaction. "Sarafina, your daughter is simply charming."

"Thank you."

"Tell me Nala, what do you think of all of this?"

The question surprised her. First of all, she never expected the King to care about her opinion. Second, Scar had never taken any interest in her before even when she and Simba were practically inseparable. She struggled to put words together. Should she be honest? Her mother would want her to be tactful, but deep down inside she only wanted to be heard. "Well, to tell the truth…" She heard her mother's tail thump hard on the ground behind her. Combined with Scar's hollow stare, this was enough to make her lose her nerve. "I-I don't know. I guess I think the pride should stay together, too."

"You 'guess'?" Scar scrutinized her.

She lowered her head, embarrassed. Maybe she should have said what she thought after all. Even her mother did nothing to rescue her from the pit of shame. After what felt like an eternity, Scar turned to Sarafina and said, "If you don't mind, Sara, there's something Sarabi and I would like to discuss with you in private."

Sarafina wrinkled her nose. Only Sarabi was allowed to call her that. She nodded anyway. "Why don't you go back to Pride Rock and see what Roho is up to? I'll find you when we're done."

Nala stuck out her jaw defiantly, but when her mother's eyes narrowed she knew she meant business. _Why didn't she stand up for me? Does she think I'm not old enough to handle myself in front of Scar and Sarabi? I hang out with Sarabi all the time! And Mufasa always liked me! _Two-thirds of the way up the tunnel she stopped. Outside, Captain Banzai was softly snoring. _This isn't fair, _she decided. _Mom doesn't know I didn't go all the way to the surface. I'll just stay here and listen._

For a short time all was silent. She started to worry they knew she was listening, but then Scar said, "I believe Sarabi would like to do the honors."

The Queen took a deep breath. "It was so wonderful having you be a part of my family when our cubs were engaged. It would mean so much to me if we could be a family again."

Nala blinked. _What on earth are they talking about?_

"Sarabi… you can't be serious. The age difference alone is… And he's just been born!"

"I know this is a lot to ask. We are all still grieving but the time has come to move forward; The Circle of Life goes on turning whether we want it to or not. Right now what the Pridelands need most is a sense of normalcy and stability. With a prince our future is secure but many of the lionesses will still refuse to accept Scar unless someone else takes the first step. I thought that our marriage would earn their confidence but now I see that it was not enough. With you and Nala standing beside us, I know we can heal these wounds."

"And the hyenas? How can we have a pride with these monsters driving us apart?"

"Watch your tongue, huntress," Scar growled. "The hyenas are here for a reason. With them we are stronger than any pride in Africa."

"Then why don't they do any work? Why don't they help? All they do is eat and sleep and complain!"

"They are protecting us!"

A deep growl echoed in the dark. There was a short pause and then Sarabi spoke again, her voice astonishingly gentle for such grave words, "I'm aware of the problems with the hyenas. Remember that we are the ones who banished them. So far we've given them no reason to respect us and many of them are just as unhappy with us as we are with them. It will take time for us to learn to trust each other but I promise you we're working on it." She paused as if to gather her strength. "This pride is the most important thing in the world to me. When I was weak and alone this pride gave me a home, a family, and my life. They've given me four beautiful children, a loving mate, and a very special friend. I cannot stand by while my family tears itself apart. Everyone must make sacrifices during a time of crisis. I regret that I must ask one of you and your daughter, but I will only ask as a friend. Please, at least make an appearance at the ceremony as our guest of honor. We need your support."

"Don't forget about your bargain with your father," Scar said sternly. "To seal the alliance between our prides your firstborn daughter must wed the king's son. That was the price you paid to allow Sarabi to take your place as queen. As I am now the king you have an obligation to fulfill."

Dread crept into Nala's chest like a dizzying poison. No, this couldn't be happening. Sarabi couldn't be asking for that, not again! At least when she found out she was engaged to Simba she had been too young to understand what it would mean for her future. She would have to be with one male for the rest of her life and have his cubs. That might be fine for other lionesses, but not for Nala. She knew what terrible burdens Sarabi carried and wanted none of them. She wanted to be a huntress and a fighter, someone to be depended upon, but not at the expense of her own freedom and happiness.

The walls of the nursing den seemed to close in around her and she fled up the tunnel before any of them could say another. For all the times she heard the story of the alliance of King Zimwi and Ahadi no one ever told her this final piece of the story, this terrible plot that sealed her destiny before she was even born. This was why she was engaged to Simba. This was why Sarabi needed Sarafina – no other lioness would do! Her own mother betrayed her!

She heard Captain Banzai snort awake shout something as she ran from the den. She kept running without looking back. The dust from the earth mixed with her tears and stung her eyes. Nala hated herself for crying and yet for the first time since Simba's funeral she could not stop. As she ran her chest burned with every sob and the pain brought more tears. She ran without looking where she was going, afraid someone would see. Soon the hard ground gave way to tall grasses whipping her face. When she couldn't run anymore she collapsed into the tall grass and buried her face in her paws to muffle the sound. She didn't want anyone to find her.

…

Nala wiped the tears from her eyes. Her tears turned the dirt into mud and stuck to her paws, which only upset her more. She rubbed harder at her face, causing the mud to smear and get into her eyes. Now she would have to get the mud off her face somehow. In the dry season there were few places to take a bath. She cringed at the thought of letting her mother clean her face and taste her tears. "This is a disaster…" she sighed, head bowed.

She stood up straight in a rush as Roho emerged from the tall grass. She advanced on him, teeth bared. "What are you doing here!? Were you spying on me?"

Shocked Roho backed away crouching. "N-no! I mean, I heard you crying and – I didn't want to bother you but – I'm sorry – you looked like you needed help."

"I don't need anyone's help! I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"I know."

"How long were you standing there?"

"What?"

"Were you spying on me!?"

Roho shook his head so hard his big ears flapped against his head. "No!"

He crumbled too easily to sustain her anger for long. After a while she just started to feel sorry for him. She wished Chumvi was here so she could have someone satisfying to yell at. "Are you okay?" he asked timidly.

"How do I _look?"_ Nala growled.

Roho lowered his eyes. "Sorry."

Silence. Realizing he wasn't going to leave, Nala sighed in defeat. "Roho…"

His ears perked up.

She bit her lip. This next part made her uncomfortable. No one outside of Nala, her mother, and the royal family knew about her previous engagement to Simba. "I think I have to get married. I'm supposed to be the next princess."

He blinked, unsure of himself. Finally, he said, "Oh… well… that makes sense. You're the best one for the job. I'd sure hate to have Ruka as queen. Not that she could be, since Kivuli is her cousin. What's wrong?"

"I don't want to marry anybody. And even if I did, I wouldn't want somebody else to choose for me."

"Yeah, I can understand that. You don't have to marry him right away, right? It's gonna be a year or so?"

When he put it like that Nala felt even sillier for crying. Roho was right, lionesses only got married after they turned two years old and she was barely one. Somehow in the heat of the moment she felt as though her marriage to Kivuli would take place the next day with Scar dragging her toward the peak of Pride Rock by the scruff of her neck. Thinking like that wasn't rational. She should have known better.

"Don't worry," Roho said reassuringly, stepping closer to her. "There's still plenty of time. Maybe they'll change their minds. If they don't you could always come with me when I go into the Roguelands. I'd be lonely out there by myself."

_What does he mean by that? _Roho suddenly looked embarrassed. "Um, you've got something…" He touched his nose.

Nala went cross-eyed looking at her nose. _Oh, right, the mud._ She sighed. "My paws are dirty."

"I can fix that for you. I mean, if you don't mind."

"That's okay." Better Roho than her mother. For some reason she felt less ashamed when only he knew she was crying. "I'm sorry I was mean to you. I'm having a rough day."

"I know. I'm used to it, so don't worry." Roho licked the back of his paw and used it to wipe the mud from her face. She felt bad for him. Always the smallest, the weakest, the butt of the joke. Now that he brought it up she did actually worry about him being alone in the Roguelands in a year or so. Chumvi would do alright and Amiri would probably be fine, too. No one would look out for Roho in the Roguelands the way she did. As she closed her eyes, letting Roho clean them with his paw, she wondered how many young males perished during their trial in the wilderness. The only rogue she ever met was Ni and judging by his appearance life in the Roguelands must be harder than anything she could imagine. Nala suddenly realized that Roho also had a difficult future ahead of him, yet he had known his fate longer than she knew about her mother's deal and acted as though it was nothing.

Roho wasn't exactly the optimistic type. Inside he must have dreaded his trial more than she dreaded her impending marriage, only he was better at hiding it. She never expected to learn something about courage from her least courageous friend. "You can open your eyes now."

Nala blinked. She couldn't feel dirt in her eyes anymore, though her brow felt slightly damp. "Thanks, Roho."

She didn't want to go back to Pride Rock yet. She still wasn't sure if her mother knew she ran off after listening in on them or even how long she had been gone. Roho suggested going to the river to look for more smooth stones. A good luck charm, just what they needed.


	7. Look at the Stars

For the first time in months Nala felt drawn back to a special place on the western ridge. Wedged between two boulders, there laid a hollow tree trunk she and Simba used as a slide on dewy mornings when the inside was slippery. Now even if she managed to wedge her shoulders inside she would only become stuck, yet as she walked toward Pride Rock at sunset and gazed at the acacia trees the memory of those happy mornings called her to return. She felt safe here, though it was cold and inhospitable at this hour. Slipping underneath the log she settled down on the cool earth and dropped a smooth stone into her paws. She licked its pure white surface and angled it to catch the light of the moon. Everything was beautiful, but Nala felt only despair. _If this rock is supposed to bring joy and good luck why do I still feel so hopeless?_

She covered the smooth stone with her paws and looked at the stars. Only one lion could save her now. Nala never spoke to the Great Kings of the Past before. Sometimes she wondered if they were even real. But it couldn't hurt to try. She licked her lips. Her voice caught in her throat, quiet and timid like a field mouse. "Are you up there, grandfather? It's your granddaughter, Nala. We've never met before. If you're up there, I really need your help. A long time ago my mom made you a promise, that I would become queen. The thing is, I don't want to be queen. I don't want to get married. If you could somehow change my fate…"

Her voice trailed off quietly. Staring at the stars, searching for some sign, she began to feel very, very stupid.

"You're facing the wrong direction. Zimwi's star is to the east, remember?"

Nala looked behind her and saw her mother coming toward her at a relaxed pace. Her ears tilted back. Having purposefully avoided her mother since this morning, she expected her to be angry. Sarafina stopped beside her. Nala fidgeted with her smooth stone and sighed heavily. "Okay, game over, you got me."

"You're not in trouble, Nala." An unexpected silence filled the void between them. Looking at her mother, Nala saw her eyes shining with regret. "Come with me, please. There's something I need to explain to you."

Nala rose hesitatingly. At the last moment she remembered her smooth stone and picked it up in her mouth, afraid she might lose it like the others if she left it behind. They went to the ledge of Pride Rock and sat down facing the east. Nala cradled the smooth stone between her paws so it wouldn't fall and followed her mother's gaze into the heavens. Shining brightly before them high above a vast flat plane, Zimwi's star twinkled, a blue beacon in the darkness.

She glanced at her mother and their eyes met at the same time. Something in her mother's expression told her she knew about her listening in on them when she wasn't supposed to, but where she expected admonishment she found sorrow and pain. She looked away, uncertain. Her mother softly cleared her voice. "A long time ago, my father sent me to the Pridelands to marry a prince I'd never met called Mufasa. He and I hit it off about as well as a mongoose and a cobra, but his best friend, Sarabi, made this strange land my home. She was of low birth, an orphan from the Roguelands, and despite being taken in by royalty she was kinder and more humble than any lioness I'd ever met. And, though she was too shy to say it, she was deeply in love with Mufasa. She may not have been born here, but as soon as I saw her I knew that Pride Rock belonged to her long before my father tried to give it to me. I gave up my right to the throne so Mufasa and Sarabi could be together. So, to keep the bond between our prides strong, my father made me promise that my first born cub would marry the Prideland's next heir." She lowered her eyes. "I didn't realize what I was promising. Sarabi and I did everything we could to help you and Simba become friends. As we watched your friendship blossom our hearts filled with joy. I hoped you would grow to truly love each other…"

Nala listened in silence. Now that she knew the truth she could no longer blame her mother for betraying her trust. "We always planned to tell you this story on your wedding day." Sarafina smiled sadly, her voice lowering to a whisper. "But of course that day will never come. And because of my promise, you are now betrothed to a newborn. I'm so sorry, Nala."

Strange to think that they had heard the tale of Ahadi and the Marshland Pride since cubhood without ever realizing its significance. Without intending to she imagined herself standing side by side with Simba, right here on the ledge of Pride Rock as Rafiki adorned their heads with flower necklaces and Zazu led a flock of songbirds singing and swooping overhead in celebration, and felt suddenly embarrassed. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

Sarafina shook her head. "My brother still expects me to uphold my promise. Sarabi already sent Zazu to ask Baako to relieve me of my burden, but when he returned at sunset the answer was no." She murmured inwardly, "Still, it was kind of her to try."

Nala worried this morning's talk put a strain on her mother's friendship with Sarabi. Sarafina seemed to have forgiven her, but it must have been hard. At the moment she felt more concerned with her own future. "I tried talking to grandfather but I don't think he heard me."

"It couldn't hurt to try again." She felt her mother's gentle paw between her shoulder blades. "Bow your head. Dear father, hear our prayer. Please free my daughter from her burden. If it is her fate to marry Prince Kivuli then please watch over him, help him grow into a strong and loving husband deserving of my daughter's paw and help Nala to love him as well. And please give us strength."

Nala opened her eyes. A faint breeze tickled her nose hairs. The night sky stretched out before her in its great vastness, leaving her small and lost, not knowing whether the lights she saw were the watchful eyes of her ancestors or mere points of light in a black abyss of indifference.

"Sometimes it's hard to know if they're listening," Sarafina murmured after a time, sharing Nala's thoughts.

Nala studied the heavens. "Is Simba up there?"

Her mother frowned. "My mother told me that young souls fade and return to the earth to be born again in a new body. Only the great kings join the stars."

She blinked, astonished. "So you're saying Simba is still alive out there somewhere?"

"No, just his spirit. He wouldn't remember us. All creatures are born and die countless times, until they prove themselves worthy to enter heaven. That's why we must treat all living creatures with respect."

Nala shivered at the thought that her best friend might now be in the body of an antelope. "I don't like the sound of that," she said, trying to smile at the absurdity of it though the concept seemed completely morbid. "Queens can join the stars too, right?"

Sarafina nodded.

"I guess that's one good thing about being a queen. Hey, doesn't that mean you gave up immortality for your best friend?"

She chuckled. "I never thought of it that way before. Some things are more important than worrying about the afterlife. No one really knows what happens after we die, all we have are old stories, but I believe that if we do our best we'll be rewarded one way or another, so even when life seems bleak we've got to be brave and follow our hearts with all our strength and fury. That's what I've always done. Even though I may not agree with her, Sarabi has grown into a better queen than I ever could be." Sarafina grew quiet. "You can't change the past, Nala, but you can make yourself a better future. Only you can decide how to face your destiny. Do you understand?"

"What can I do?" Nala tried to extract some unknown meaning from her mother's eyes. All her life she had lived under the paws of lions stronger and wiser than herself and yet, all her life, she longed to crawl out from under their shadows and bask in the light of the real world. Now her mother was giving her permission do just that. For the first time ever, for only a few seconds, she found herself standing all alone on her own four legs, as fragile as the smooth stone cradled in her paws inches from the precipice of Pride Rock, and in spite of everything she thought she knew about herself she wished her mother would tell her what to do. She wanted to take an order. She wanted everything to be simple. It stung.

Sarafina gently nuzzled her shoulder, purring. "What you choose. This is your life now. I know you're make the right decision."

_What I want… _

_ What do I want?_

_ Am I as free as she says I am?_

She was too afraid to answer. Long after her mother returned to the communal den, Nala remained on the ledge of Pride Rock with her smooth stone cradled between her paws like a newborn cub, looking up to the stars and trying to decide what to do with the path of life stretched out before her. Staying at Pride Rock meant marrying Kivuli and becoming his queen. Although she looked up to Sarabi she never envied her position. While their king represented brute strength, justice and leadership, to her the things Sarabi represented were rarer: quiet strength, compassion and hope, the latter being the rarest of them all. Nala was a logical thinker. She doubted she could live up to Sarabi's standard.

Running away from it all crossed her mind more than once. Roho would be with her, maybe her mother too, though she flinched at the thought of tearing her mother away from Sarabi for her own selfish sake. As for herself she would miss her friends, even Chumvi, the Night of Tales, the ever changing shadows of Pride Rock. Wezi needed her here, too. Her absence would give Eupe one less reason to keep her daughter at Pride Rock. But that wasn't all. The landscape reminded her of Simba. Would she forget his face if she ran away?

Scratch that one off the list.

But what else could she do? Accept her fate? What would Kivuli be like when he grew up? Would he resemble Scar? She could never imagine herself with someone like that (with anyone at all, if she was honest). She imagined she would be as incompatible with him as her mother with Mufasa. Then it hit her. _What if Kivuli fell in love with someone else?_

Regardless of what she did, Kivuli would be _king. _His word would be law. His word could set her free! If anyone remained to save her from her fate it had to be that little furball. Oh, it was a cunning scheme alright, her best plan yet! She would have to get close to him, get to know him well so she could find the perfect lioness for him and make them fall in love. Then Kivuli would have to call off the wedding. Getting close to him would be no problem; Scar and Sarabi would expect her to spend time with him. Maybe Moto would be a good match - she might make a good queen. Or maybe Neema or her sister Zuia, they were the youngest after all. Well come to think of it she would have a few years. New cubs would be born closer to Kivuli's age. Anything could happen.

...

_"What does the future hold for my pride, Old Friend?"_

_"Trouble and nothing but. Strangers will walk among us with their deceptions. There will be famine and wars. The first war will be with innocents and the second will be with ourselves. It does not look good, Uru."  
_

_"Will we persevere?"  
_

_"I do not know. My vision is cloudy. I feel as though we have been blown off course somehow."  
_

_"Must you always speak in riddles..."  
_

_"I am only a messenger."  
_

_"Sometimes I wonder about my son. Have I made a mistake, Rafiki? Will Taka lead us wisely as I hoped?"  
_

_"Hmm. He has ambition. But what will he do with it? That is the question."_

_"May I ask one more? Will I live long enough to see peace?"  
_

_The wind blows.  
_

_"No. But you will be remembered and loved, especially by an old baboon."  
_

_"Thank you, Rafiki. I must return to Pride Rock."  
_

END OF PART I

**AN: Decided to post this a little early since it's done. Expect Part II: Teeth and Ambitions up sometime around the 20th of December. To those of you who voted in the poll I've decided to keep all three parts together in one story. I know Part I was a bit slow, that was intentional so that I could introduce my cast and build up characters who didn't get much attention in the movies/books (ie Sarafina, Sarabi and Uru). It's all going to pay off big time.  
**

**Thanks for reading! Please post a review if you're enjoying my story. Or even if you're not. :)  
**


	8. The Young Prince

_Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. _

_As king, you need to understand that balance_

_ and respect all the creatures, _

_from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope._ – Mufasa, _The Lion King_

**PART II**

TEETH AND AMBITIONS

Four months of relative tranquility followed the Royal Presentation of Kivuli. Water returned to the land with gusto, the herds multiplied, and the Serengeti blossomed with green. Meanwhile at Pride Rock, some members of the pride were finally coming to terms with their new neighbors and tension was easing. Although food remained scarce, hope was slowly returning to the Pridelands. Nala was now fourteen months old and growing every day, looking more and more like her mother. Roho was growing up too, in his own way. Although he gained only a few inches at the shoulder he grew long and lanky like a snake and his long neck, made worse by his sparse mane, which mainly took the form of a giant cow-lick, earned him a new nickname: Giraffe; an ironic name for the red-headed runt.

Chumvi, now the largest young male in the Pridelands, had firmly established himself as the toughest lion at Pride Rock. He liked to brag that he could take on King Scar if he wanted to, but only when the hyenas weren't looking. No longer so clumsy, Amiri had taken his place as Chumvi's second in command. Ruka spent most of her days with the two boys and it was now common to see Chumvi and Amiri trying to impress her in hot-headed competition. Poor Amiri; Nala knew Ruka only kept him around for the entertainment value. Her real favorite had always been Chumvi. Some of the girls – Nala included – liked to tease her that she would run off with Chumvi when he left the Pridelands on his trial. She denied everything with a callous laugh.

Nala pitied Amiri more because of his obliviousness to lionesses besides Ruka. If he stopped to look around he might realize he had no shortage of fans. Personally, Nala thought it all very foolish. But it made for good entertainment. This phase would pass, she felt sure of it. When the rest of her friends were behaving like love birds in spring, she still had Wezi, Kula (who was more interested in food than boys), and Roho, of course. Only Roho shared her cynicism. Not that he laughed at the love birds as she did. The abrupt change in his peers made him want to, as he said, 'stick my head in the ground.'

There were more exciting events going on at Pride Rock than the boys getting their manes. Recently a new group of rogue lionesses had been accepted into the pride. Only their leader's name, Shetani, was known to Nala. There were six of them in total: one elder, two teenagers – about Nala's age, and three cubs. Everyone called their group the Outsiders because they kept to themselves. Nala had not had a chance to meet them yet and with their reputation she was in no rush, but she enjoyed having something to talk about other than which of the three boys at Pride Rock had the best mane.

With the resurgence of the herds and the lionesses coming of age, Scar had proudly announced his intention of forming a third hunting party to accompany Sarabi and Sarafina's teams. Nala and Ruka were the favorites to lead this new hunting party. Sarabi naturally kept her opinions to herself. She might say she had no favorites, but the look in her eyes told Nala different. Wezi and Kula were also in the running. The contest to decide the leader would take place in a few weeks. Usually Nala would have been out training, but her mother insisted she take some time off to relax with family. She happily obliged, especially because spending time with both Sarabi and Sarafina together was so rare these days.

On this day Roho and Nala were sunning themselves on a rock next to Sarafina and Sarabi. Since all his sisters wanted to do was tease Chumvi and Amiri, and because he hated spending time alone with his mother, Roho spent almost all of his time in her company like a brother. There were rumors of course – cruel, untrue rumors. While they were sometimes enough to force Roho to storm off to spend the day alone Nala simply ignored them and went on with her life.

"Have you seen Shaba or Zito lately?" Sarafina asked Sarabi. By this time they had exhausted many pleasant subjects of conversation. Sarabi did not welcome this subject but answered out of obligation.

"No. Captain Shenzi hasn't reported anything unusual at the boarder but I've asked her to keep an eye out for her, just in case. I hope they're alright."

"Shaba and Zito are fine huntresses. If anything happened to them we would have found their bodies by now…" Sarafina sighed. "I always knew this day was coming. If I ever see them again I'll give them a good smack across the face."

"I hoped we were past this," Sarabi murmured sadly. After a pause, she added, "At least the worst is over. Maybe Shaba and Zito will be happier elsewhere."

Sarafina said nothing. Shaba and Zito had gone missing a week ago, around the same time the Outsiders joined the pride. Naturally, some lions were suspicious. Nala, however, was of the opinion that Shaba and Zito disappeared because they finally went through with the plan she overheard them talking about so many months ago. She hoped Sarabi was right about them.

Of course, her mother was upset about losing two of her best huntresses. Once the leader of the new hunting team was chosen Sarabi would need to redistribute the remaining huntresses to keep the numbers even. Sarafina usually hunted with Buibui, Eupe, Shaba, and Zito, but with the latter gone the adolescent huntresses were picking up the slack. Nala loved the work.

She opened her eyes and lazily shifted to her stomach, spotting Kivuli coming toward them with the giant hyena Ripuka lumbering close behind. She looked so fearsome that the first time Nala saw her she mistook her for a male. Only after Kviuli explained that female hyenas are larger and tougher than males did she realize Ripuka was female. Even Chumvi shrank a little when Ripuka looked his way, so seeing such a young cub walking alongside her as if she was as harmless as a tortoise was always a surreal experience. When Ripuka sat down at the edge of the group Kivuli was the only lion whose fur didn't stand on end.

Sarabi looked concerned. "Oh, Kivuli… I thought your father was showing you the Pridelands today?"

Kivuli sighed. His eyes were down. "No, he's taking another nap. Hi Nala."

"Hi Kivuli."

The Prince flopped down in his mother's arms. For the first month and a half of his life Kivuli was confined to his den by his overprotective father. Until she convinced Scar to let Roho tag along only Nala was allowed to see him. Whenever he left the den Scar hovered over him like a mother crocodile, quick to grab him and drag him back between his front paws if he wandered too far or growl at him if he did something embarrassing. Scar was no longer as controversial as he had been during the first five months of his reign, yet he remained an impersonal, intimidating presence and Kivuli made few friends because of him. It didn't help that all the young Pridelanders were at least nine months older than him, save the mysterious Outsiders cubs, and none of the lionesses were pregnant. The situation only grew worse when Scar finally tired of escorting him everywhere and assigned Ripuka as Kivuli's personal bodyguard. For a while he seemed happy to have hyena friends, but the persistent sadness that clouded his eyes over the past few weeks told Nala all she needed to know.

Sarabi frowned. She once said that Kivuli could never replace Simba, but that never stopped her from loving him. "I'm sorry dear, I'm sure he'll take you out later. You know how he gets."

"Whatever..."

The queen exchanged a meaningful glance with Sarafina and shook her head. Scar always broke his promises. As Sarabi groomed her son his body went limp in her arms and he closed his eyes as if finally discovering peace in this world.

"Don't look so glum, little guy," Roho said kindly as he stretched out his legs. "At least you've got a dad. My father's out in the Roguelands somewhere." Kivuli groaned at his sagely observation.

Nala stood and stretched her spine in a rising arch until her vertebrae popped. Her head felt fuzzy after relaxing in the sun for a couple hours, so she shook herself out to get her blood circulating again. "I could show him the Pridelands, Sarabi."

Sarabi smiled. She loved to see Nala volunteering to spend time with her son. "That's alright with me. What do you think, Sara?"

"Nala doesn't need my permission, as long as I know where she's going."

"The usual places. The river and falls, the plains… You're coming too, right Roho?"

"Huh?" He blinked heavily and wrestled himself off the ground. "Yeah, sure, why not? I was getting tired of…" He leaned back and let out an enormous yawn, smacking his chops. "… sleeping."

Kivuli smiled gratefully. "Ripuka can come, too. She'll keep us safe from everything, right Ripuka?"

The hyena straightened her back and nodded with a deep growl that made Kivuli's eyes light up in joy and affection. Concerned, Sarafina turned to Nala and murmured, "Be careful out there."

Few Pridelanders trusted hyenas more than they tolerated them, but Sarafina distrusted them most of all. Nala would have been lying if she said Ripuka didn't make her nervous. This monstrous hyena could take on a full-grown lioness in one-on-one combat and if her will was as fearsome as her crimson eyes she could win, too. Fortunately, Kivuli understood her feelings. As the four of them headed onto the plains he asked Ripuka to hang back a little to give them space. She fell back obediently but remained on high alert. Everyone knew that Ripuka would do anything Kivuli asked without question. Nala wished the other Pridelanders would give Kivuli a chance. If they got to know him the way she and Roho did they would realize that he was just an ordinary cub and so far had not shown any signs of inheriting his father's temper. She always thought he took after his mother. In fact, there were even times he reminded her of Simba.

That didn't mean she had any interest in marrying him. Unfortunately, his popularity problem would make finding him a sweetheart a lot more difficult than she anticipated unless he made some friends. None of the lionesses were pregnant either. This put Kivuli in an awkward position. She wondered if he would feel the same way as she did if he knew about his responsibilities.

As Pride Rock shrank into the distance she noticed Kivuli looking over his shoulder. The silence began to weigh on her, so she tried to lighten the mood. "Hey Kivuli, did Nana Uru ever tell you the story about the hippo who brought the rains?"

"Thanks but I'm not in the mood for a story," Kivuli said. Nala detected nervousness in his voice and looked at him suspiciously. He met her eyes imploringly. "There's actually someplace special I want to visit today. Before you say no, hear me out."

Nala slowed, narrowing her eyes. Something about this felt terribly familiar. It gave her goose bumps. Kivuli took a deep breath.

"There's this Outsider cub named Tumbusi. He's really cool and we're almost the same age. I want to be friends with him, but he won't play with me until I prove I'm just as tough as he is. He's the _only _boy my age in the entire pride - there isn't anybody else. Please Nala, I need your help. I haven't got any friends my age."

"What does he want?"

Kivuli hesitated. "A leg bone... from the Elephant Graveyard."

Nala froze. She shivered and flicked her ears as they echoed with words from long ago:

_So where are we going? It better not be any place dumb._

_No, it's really cool!  
_

"No, Kivuli! That place is too dangerous - we can't go there!" she said firmly. Surprisingly, she sounded a bit like Mufasa.

"Yeah, and it's against the law," Roho chimed in, equally distressed.

"I know, I know! But listen, I've got it all figured out. Ripuka helped me. There's a gap in the boarder patrol around the northern river. If we swim we can cross the boarder and get inside without anybody seeing us. Nobody will even know we left, I promise. The hyenas don't live there anymore."

She glanced at Ripuka in shock. "You..." She glared at Kivuli. "You planned this the whole time! I bet Scar isn't even taking a nap! How could you lie to me?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to, but Ripuka needs help and everyone knows you're a good swimmer." His eyes welled with fear. "Please don't tell, Nala! You're my best friend. If you help me I promise I'll give you anything you want when I'm king."

"We're sorry, little guy. This is way too dangerous for you, right Nala? Nala...?"

She flicked her tail in silence. _Anything you want. _Would she really risk her life, Kivuli's life, for a chance at freedom? She glanced at Ripuka, now standing less than ten feet behind them and eying her like a hawk. Her posture showed no hint of hostility. Still, Nala felt herself brace. Ripuka's red eyes gleamed like precious stones. Ever since she first saw Ripuka she thought the hyena was either mute or dumb. When she opened her mouth, her fur prickled and her flesh chilled. Ripuka's voice was like a waterfall, a deep, gentle rumble that left her awed and disarmed: "Please, friend Nala. Kivuli needs you to help Ripuka carry the bone across the water."

Nala flattened her ears uncertainly. As a rule, hyenas were untrustworthy characters; she never treated them as friends and they treated her just the same. Had Ripuka called her 'friend' out of stupidity or was this an extension of the olive branch? Ripuka held her gaze as if waiting for something. Finally, she turned back to Kivuli. His big, orange eyes reminded her of Sarabi. "Alright, but at the _first _sign of danger I'm taking you straight back to Pride Rock. Understand?"

Kivuli grinned and rubbed up against her foreleg. She resented him for manipulating her so easily, forcing herself not to smile. "Thank you so much, Nala! I'll keep my promise, I swear by the stars!"

"Nala..." Roho gaped at her, fear in his eyes. He looked the same as he did on the night Zazu escorted her back to Pride Rock after her her adventure with Simba in the Elephant Graveyard. If it wasn't for him tattling on Simba, Mufasa might never have found them in time. He had been so afraid for them. "Roho, you don't have to go. This won't take long."

"No!" He leapt to her side, landing off-balance. "I'm n-not letting you go alone this time! Even if it is scary, I won't let you get hurt again."

Her eyes widened. Concern quickly replaced her surprise. She studied Roho carefully: his gangly limbs, his cow-licked mane, his enormous, cub-like eyes. He looked as though he might give himself a heart-attack. She tried to smile reassuringly. "Roho, we'll be fine. You really think anything is gonna mess with Ripuka and me?"

"M-maybe, if you were outnumbered. You don't know what's living there now. At least if I'm there... well... whatever-it-is will think twice before attacking us. Mom always said there's safety in numbers."

He made a good point, much to her disliking. She frowned thoughtfully. "How are you at swimming?"

"I can swim," he professed without hesitation. Nala couldn't tell if the look in his eyes was fear or if he was lying. The more time she spent trying to figure him out the more likely they would be caught. She sighed.

"Alright, come on then. Let's get this over with."

They made for the northern river. Along the way they passed three hyena patrols, but each time they came to question them Kivuli easily brushed them off. "Nala and Roho are just showing me around the Pridelands," he said charmingly. They believed him every time.

The section where they needed to cross was dried up the last time Nala saw it. Now nearly thirty feet of moving water stood between them and the shadowy crags beyond. Trees and bushes overgrew the banks, concealing them from patrols in dappled shadows. There was not even a hint of hyena smell here. Nala cautiously dipped her foot into the chilly water and discovered that the bank dropped off suddenly with no way to tell how deep the water went, and the current tugged at her fur. Roho looked nervous. She turned to her companions, her features composed. "I'll cross first. Put Kivuli on my back."

Roho nodded and picked Kivuli up by the scruff of his neck. She winced as his tiny claws dug into her shoulders. "Ready?"

Kivuli nodded, his little heart pounding against her back. Gently Nala stepped over the ledge and let the water lift her up. The young Prince gasped at the cold and clung to her like a thorn. The heavy current tried to pull her down stream, but it was sluggish. She knew that if she tried to fight it she would exhaust herself before she reached the other side. Her webbed toes - a gift from the Marshlands - helped her swim. The journey seemed to take forever, but she never felt as afraid for herself as she did for the cub trembling on her back. She dug her claws into a waterlogged, dead tree half-buried in the mud and wrenched herself onto shore. Panting to catch her breath, she knelt down to let Kivuli off and looked back to the other shore. Kivuli shook the water from his paws and stayed behind her. The current had dragged her at least ten feet downstream. Roho stared back at her from the river bank, his mouth wide open like a hippo. Ripuka watched her intently. Nala gave herself a good shake. "The current's strong, don't try to fight it! Roho, you go first. Ripuka will follow in case you need her."

"Do what she says, Ripuka!" Kivuli echoed. The hyena nodded obediently.

Roho glanced at the hyena uneasily. He dipped his paw in the water and flinched when he discovered the drop off. _Come on, Roho. You can do it, _Nala thought, biting her lip. The red-headed lion looked around nervously and backed away from the water, disappearing into the overgrown bank. Secretly relieved, Nala dipped her head. _At least he'll be..._

"WAHHH!" He sprinted down the slope and leapt from the bank into the river with an enormous splash. Nala gasped in horror. Ripuka searched the river frantically for signs of him when all of a sudden he exploded above the surface, desperately slapping the water with his paws and making an enormous racket. Ripuka leapt in after him. Bobbing and sputtering, Roho padded toward the opposite shore. Nala leaned over the bank. The current was carrying him downstream farther and faster than it did her. As soon as he realized this Roho began to panic and fight against it to no avail. The current sapped his strength, pulling him faster. Ripuka couldn't catch up to him in time. Nala ran downstream with Kivuli right behind her, chasing her exhausted friend through the shadows and brush.

"Hold on! You're almost there!" she called.

Less than ten feet from shore Roho's head went underwater. Leaping in after him, Nala clawed at the water and dove down. Through the murky water she could only follow the _THUM THUM THUM _of Roho's wildly swinging paws. Her nose bumped into his shoulder. She grabbed a mouthful of fur with her teeth and dragged him to the surface, exhaling through her clenched teeth, but she lost her grip as Roho battered her with his forepaws in a panic. She swam behind him and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck before he could sink again and paddled toward shore, where Ripuka and Kivuli were waiting for them. When they reached the shore Roho clambered up first and stumbled a couple of feet before stopping where he was and coughing up water. His red fur hung off his bones, sopping wet as he shivered. Nala caught her breath and went to check on him.

"I'm sorry Nala..." he said, trembling from the cold. "I p-p-panicked..."

She stared at him as her chest heaved heavily. After a long silence she swept his messy mane over his eyes with her paw. "Don't do it again."

Ripuka stepped in front of them. Water had the opposite effect on her; her wet fur clung to and highlighted every muscle in her body, making her look even more intimidating. She snarled at Roho and looked Nala in the eyes. This time there was no gentleness in her voice. "Someone may have heard us. We must keep moving."


	9. Graveyard

**AN: This chapter is a bit grizzly.**

The earth blackened as they neared the boarder of the Elephant Graveyard, a rise of jagged black rocks known as Shadow Pass. Beyond Shadow Pass smoky clouds dominated the sky. As they entered the pass Ripuka took the lead, followed by Kivuli and Nala with Roho close at her side.

Although the clouds weakened the sun's light the ground radiated warmth and Nala thought she heard distant rumbling. The air tasted musky and stale and if she inhaled too much of it her eyes started to water. She tried to avoid taking deep breaths. Scanning the rocky walls of the pass, she saw few signs of life. An old, dead acacia tree feebly clung to a jagged rock above them with spidery roots. Brittle twigs cracked beneath their paws. The little vegetation she could recognize seemed to be long dead. There was only one living creature Nala expected to find here. Before they entered Shadow Pass, Ripuka cautioned them to be wary of the snakes that made their homes in crevices between the rocks. But although she kept her eyes open for their dens she found no sign of them, not even shed skin. She tread cautiously.

The twisting path gradually steepened until they reached its zenith; there they paused to rest on a cliff overlooking the Elephant Graveyard. A disquieting silence fell over the group as Roho and Kivuli gaped at the bone yard. For Nala the sight brought back chilling memories. She glanced at Ripuka, who stared across the gloomy expanse with neither bitterness nor welcome. "Did you live here?"

Ripuka said nothing. Kivuli looked at her sadly. "She doesn't like to talk about it."

As they descended into the Graveyard itself Nala realized how long it had been since the last time she sat foot here. The bones seemed much larger as a cub, though they were still massive.

Instinctively she searched for signs of life. The hunting lessons she received from her mother and Binti taught her to look at the world in ways she never considered as a cub. No birds flew in the sky, not even vultures. Her ears twitched as they passed an elephant skull, detecting the tiny squeaks of mice. _That must be what the snakes eat. But what do the mice eat? These bones are picked clean and I don't see any plants here. I can't even smell water._

She spotted some faint animal tracks and slowed down to investigate them. Maybe they would provide answers. Her eyes bulged. "Ripuka, Kivuli – come here quickly! These are hyena tracks."

Several sets of tracts in fact, at least five individuals. They couldn't have been here for long. She sniffed them. Ripuka did the same. "They're at least a week old." Nala glared at Ripuka. "I thought your clan didn't live here anymore. What's going on?"

Ripuka shook herself and regarded her with narrowed eyes. "You ask Captain Shenzi," she snorted.

"Captain Shenzi was here?" Roho asked with his tail between his legs. Ripuka gave him a dirty look and he shrank away from it.

Kivuli looked confused. "What would Captain Shenzi be doing all the way out here? We're not even in the Pridelands anymore."

Nala eyed Ripuka with her ears flattened against her skull. She growled, "Are you sure you don't know anything about this?"

"No!" Kivuli stood in front of her protectively. "Ripuka's just my bodyguard, she doesn't report to Captain Shenzi. Only my dad and I can give her orders."

"She's still one of _them."_

"She's my friend! If she thought it was dangerous she never would have brought be here."

"Yeah, dangerous for _you. _No hyena would ever lay a paw on you – you're practically one of them. The last time I saw Captain Shenzi, she tried to kill me!"

"No I'm not!" Kivuli bristled. "I'm a lion just like you! Just because we're different doesn't mean we're enemies. You don't know them like I do, you've never even talked to them. You're just like all the other Pridelanders – scared of something you don't understand. But you don't even want to understand because you don't care about anyone but yourselves!"

"Hey, cut it out little guy!" Roho raised his voice as loud as he dared. His eyes kept darting to Ripuka worriedly, as if he expected her to charge. "You know Nala's not like that. She cares about everybody."

"Pish. Not everybody," she muttered sourly. No matter how unjust Mufasa's punishment she knew better than to mistake pity for forgiveness. The Sootfoot clan did nothing to earn it from her.

"Well you should! Any friend of mine is a friend of Ripuka's. She said so herself. Remember?"

Nala frowned. Ripuka did call her friend, though she still found that choice of words dubious. She wondered if Ripuka was smart enough to lie. The hyena's odd habit of referring to herself in the third person, coupled with her blunt, simple speech and heavy brow did not inspire her respect. If the average hyena had rocks for brains Ripuka's skull must be full of pebbles. Anyway, the look Ripuka gave her now was anything but friendly.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Roho protested meekly in the uncomfortable silence. "I don't know about you guys, but I just wanna grab what we came for and get the heck outta here! There's no way Captain Shenzi is still hanging around here. And I hate to say it: if Ripuka wanted to kill us we'd be dead by now. She knows this place better than we do so we better trust her. At least for now," he added with a whisper.

Roho might have a point. She sighed, "Fine, let's hurry. This place gives me the creeps."

…

Venturing deeper into the Graveyard they found an enormous pile of bones. Judging by the skulls there were at least four elephant skeletons in this area and possibly bones from others. Ripuka climbed to the top of the largest skull and looked around. Satisfied that they were alone, Ripuka jumped down. Since there were so many skeletons here Nala suggested that they break up into groups to make this go faster. Kivuli went with Ripuka and Roho reluctantly crept away, leaving Nala to dig through her own pile of bones.

The nasty stench in the air was beginning to irritate Nala's throat. A fine, ash-like dust covered the earth, sticking to her paws and getting in her eyes as she shifted the bones. She growled in discomfort and shoved aside a giant shoulder blade. How the Sootfoot clan managed to live here for so long was beyond her imagination.

With clouds covering the sky she could only guess how long they had been searching. In a graveyard overflowing with pachyderms she never thought they would have so much trouble finding something as mundane as a leg bone. When they did the bone they were looking for it was always split open or broken in some way. There didn't seem to be much marrow inside these bones, leaving her baffled. It seemed like an enormous waste of energy for so little reward. Was food that scarce here?

Nala trotted toward what appeared to be the socket of a leg bone sticking out of the ground. Hopefully this one would be whole. The tough ground resisted her. This bone - if it was a bone - must have been buried here a long time ago. She raked her claws through the earth, loosening it. After a long hard time spent scraping away the soil she revealed the shaft of what appeared to be a complete elephant leg bone. Growing excited she began digging faster, a grin spreading across her face. This time she'd found it for sure.

Suddenly, somewhere nearby…

_RUMBLE! _

_CRASH!_

Startled by the noise, Nala bolted upright and franticly looked around. Someone moaned in pain. "Roho!"

She ran toward the spot where Roho was digging, but he was nowhere in sight. "Roho!? Can you hear me?"

"Down here! Ah… I think I'm alright…"

She followed the sound of his voice to a steep ledge hidden behind another pile of bones. Part of the ledge had recently collapsed. Nala tested it with her forepaw. It seemed safe, for now at least. There was no telling when it might collapse again.

Somewhere below, Roho stammered incomprehensibly, voice rising to a terrified squeak. "I… I… I… oh… no… no no… no no no…"

Nala cautiously peered over the edge. The drop-off was steep but not deep, possibly a section of an old muddy river. Roho was backed up against the other side, shivering with his tail wrapped around rightly his body, but aside from being covered in mud and having his fur messed he looked to be in good health. He jumped when she called his name, causing her to worry. While he certainly had a reputation for being a coward she had never seen him this frightened before. His eyes darted toward something on the other side of the river bed. A few pieces of the ledge crumbled away when she tried to lean over it. Fortunately it held for the most part, but she backed away just to be safe. "What's down there?"

"D… d… d… don't… c… come… d… down…"

"Is it a snake?"

Roho shook his head.

"Can you climb out on your own?"

He stared at her blankly, almost hyperventilating. If she didn't get him out of there soon he could pass out and she would have no hope of dragging his unconscious body up these steep cliffs. "I'm coming down for you."

By the time Roho gathered enough of his wits to stammer out a few syllables she had already leapt into the river bed. The air down here was stagnant and smelled of blood. Only by standing right in front of him could she see the blood dripping from his red forehead. Nala bit her lip. She would figure out how to explain this to Nyonda later. Right now she needed to calm him down. "Hold still," she said softly and licked his forehead to clean out the wound. He closed his eyes and leaned against her heavily. She smiled, teasing, "Don't be such a baby. It's only a little cut. What are you so afraid of?"

He shivered and choked on a sob. She thought he had grown out of his crying phase. "S… Shaba… Z… Zito… they… they're here…"

Nala felt her heart slowing down. Slowly, she turned her head. She saw them first out of the corner of her eye, two large feline carcasses cloaked in a thin layer of torn dry skin, their bodies twisted in chaotic death poses, but what she noticed first was their teeth - their blazing white, skinless grins. One of the bodies faced her, its black eye sockets burning like hot coals. She had seen dead bodies before on her hunting trips with her mother's team, the carcasses of plant eaters left for scavengers. This was not even remotely similar. She averted her eyes, gasping for breath. While she struggled to compose herself Roho babbled insensibly.

"It's them… it's them… _it's them!" _

"_Stop it!" _Nala hissed, tears in her eyes. Just as she was about to snap she heard Kivuli calling her from the ledge. She lifted her head, purposefully avoiding the bodies piled at the foot of the ledge, and saw the young prince standing in the same spot she had moments before, oblivious to the horrors below. Ripuka stood behind him. The tears ran down her cheeks as she blinked, seized by a new compulsion. _I can't let him see them. _She swallowed hard. "We're fine. I found a bone over where I was digging but it's stuck. Could you dig it up, Ripuka?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kivuli called. She nodded quickly, heart pounding.

"Yes. We'll be out in a minute. Go help Ripuka dig up that bone so we can get out of here."

Kivuli's tail swished in hesitation. "Alright… if you're sure. Just hurry, okay?"

"We will." As Kivuli and Ripuka disappeared behind the pile of bones Nala inhaled deeply, unaware that she had been holding her breath. Roho stared at her helplessly. "What are we going to do?" he said quietly.

She wished she had the answers. Maybe her mother would know what to do, but if she told her what they'd been doing… "I don't know. We should head back to Pride Rock. I'll try to think of something."

Now she just needed to find a way to get them back to Ripuka and Kivuli. They couldn't go back the way they came. She looked downstream, spotting the skeleton of an elephant that had died inside of the river, creating a natural bridge to the other side. It might not be pretty, but it was better than the alternative. Nala put her front paws on the cliff and dug in her claws. After Roho climbed out over her shoulders she pulled herself up and the two of them made their way back to the others in silence. By the time they reached them Ripuka had finished digging the bone out of the ground. It was a complete leg bone. Kivuli danced around the bone, giddy with joy. Glancing at Roho, Nala saw that they shared the same hollow expression. When their eyes met she realized what they were both thinking. The journey home would be much longer than the journey out.

…

Roho crossed the river first on their way back and Nala followed with Kivuli on her back. Roho fared much better this time, allowing the current to drag him rather than trying to fight it. Nala wondered if he learned his lesson before or if the sight they saw in the Elephant Graveyard was so horrific that he simply lost the will to struggle. Once Roho and Kivuli were on the other side and safely hidden in the brush, Nala swam back across to help Ripuka carry the bone through the water. It took all her strength to hold her head above water but somehow they made it, though by the end of it she was so exhausted that she needed to rest before they continued.

Thank goodness for the sun. She missed its warmth and light in that dark place. Based on its position they were outside the Pridelands for little more than an hour. That gave them plenty of time to rest, since their parents would not be expecting them back so soon. With the shade protecting them Nala could finally enjoy a little peace. She laid her head on her paws and sighed.

_Was it worth it? If Kivuli keeps his promise I'll never have to worry about marriage again. But those bodies… _She rolled onto her side, pulled her back legs to her chest and curled up in a ball, tucking her head under her wrist.

_Could they really be Shaba and Zito? I never got a good look at them… I couldn't… and even if I could… there was so much missing. They didn't even have fur. _She grimaced. _No, can't be. Shaba and Zito aren't stupid enough to go wandering around in the Elephant Graveyard. I think they already planned where they wanted to run away to. It's been so long… what was it? The Acacia Pride? That's probably right. I'm not sure what direction that's in but I'm pretty sure you don't go through the Elephant Graveyard to get there. _

_ They're not the only ones missing, either. No one has seen Huzuni in months. That's unusual. _Normally there were Huzuni sightings every few weeks. The huntresses often caught glimpses of her from a distance and word got around quickly that she was still out there. Everyone was concerned about her, so as soon as someone mentioned seeing her everyone would bombard her with questions about Huzuni's well being. Some of the lionesses even talked about trying to convince her to come back. Then about a month after Kivuli's presentation suddenly everyone started talking about how _no one_ had seen Huzuni lately. Then they stopped talking about her all together. Even Nala hadn't thought about her in months. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind in vain.

_Stop thinking about that. Huzuni probably just left, just like Shaba and Zito did. _

_ But then… who were they? How did they die? They couldn't have fallen. What if they were sick or injured? How did they get there? No one would search for help in that place…_

_ …_

_ Something must have killed them._

_ …_

_ The hyena tracks._

Nala cupped her paws over her ears.

_No. Stop it. It's not important. They could have been rogues for all you know. _

She whispered to herself, "What if I'm wrong?"

_…_

_ If I tell mom what I saw I'll have to tell her what I was doing. If Sarabi finds out that I took Kivuli to the Elephant Graveyard we'll all be in trouble and Kivuli might take back his promise. And I still haven't found any cubs he would like. I don't even know how to make him fall in love, whatever that means. Damn it. _

She rolled onto her other side and laid her head on her foreleg, gazing through the tall grass toward the savannah and the distant silhouette of Pride Rock beyond. She thumped her tail against the ground and squeezed her eyes shut. _What would Sarabi do?_

_ …_

_ I have to tell mom. _


	10. Stranger and Stranger

Before Nala went looking for her mother she had some business to attend to with the Outlanders. After everything she went through she would curse herself until the end of her days if she did not see Tumbusi's dare through to the end, and if that little brat reneged on his promise to be Kivuli's best friend she would smack him clear to Mount Kilimanjaro.

The Outsiders rarely came to Pride Rock. She heard that Shetani occasionally toured Pride Rock with her eldest daughter, Sarabi, and Scar, but Nala had never seen them before. Most of what she knew about Shetani came from Sarabi: she was an older lion, about Uru's age with a creamy coat turning white in places, a broken tail, crooked whiskers, and a ridge going from the top of her head down her back. Many of the Pridelanders disliked Shetani but Sarabi, who probably knew her best, seemed only to pity her. She tried to help Shetani integrate her daughters into the pride. Having also been saved from the perils of the Roguelands by a king, brought into this land as a stranger, Sarabi probably sympathized with Shetani just as she had with Sarafina when King Zimwi sent her to the Pridelands, but unlike the two of them Shetani had entered the Pridelands as an old huntress set in her ways and was not adjusting well.

Shetani's family spent most of their days at a place called Turtle Rock. It was a nice, quiet place to sun yourself or relax in the shade, although not as favored as the Western Ridge due to its distance from Pride Rock and lack of acacia trees. The only shade to be found was beneath Turtle Rock, which opened like a turtle shell at the front, providing enough space for two or three lionesses to cool off. Some said it's adjacency to the watering hole made up for the scant shade, at least during the wet season when the watering hole was full. Another reason for Turtle Rock's meager popularity was that it sat utterly exposed to the world. While standing on top of it provided a good view of the surrounding plains there were few places to take cover, making it less than ideal for lionesses with cubs, not that this seemed to bother the Outsiders. When they arrived in the Pridelands the lionesses relinquished Turtle Rock to them without a whisper of protest.

From a distance Nala spotted one of the Outsiders pacing on top of Turtle Rock. When they were roughly one hundred yards away the Outsider suddenly stopped and let out a ferocious roar, waking two others who were resting under the shade. Nala and Ripuka stopped in the same instant. The Outsider lioness stared them down.

"What's her problem?" Nala quipped after setting the bone on the ground.

"Maybe you should go talk to her," Roho suggested.

Nala glanced at Ripuka and Kivuli. Ripuka did not seem like a proper diplomat and even though Kivuli knew one of the Outsider's cubs it didn't seem like the lioness on Turtle Rock realized. She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Do I even have a choice?"

The Outsider lioness thrashed the air with her tail. Nala had never seen a lioness behave so aggressively before and despite her best efforts to appear friendly the Outsider only grew more agitated. Half-way to Turtle Rock, the lioness leapt from her perch and charged her with a snarl. Nala jumped back as the lioness stopped in a wave of dust. A ridge of dark fur ran down her back and her left ear was torn. Her dark eye shadows made her look as though she had mud on her face. As the lanky lioness circled her Nala followed her movements, keeping her back protected, and growled warningly. She could hear Roho and Ripuka coming toward her. The Outsider must have noticed them to, because she suddenly stopped pacing. She looked Nala in the eyes. "Who are you? What do you want?" she snapped.

"Nala. I'm not here to fight you." But she wanted to make it perfectly clear that she would defend herself if necessary. The Outsider glanced at Roho and Ripuka and scoffed. Knowing that she would think twice about jumping her when she was outnumbered, Nala relaxed her muscles and said, "I'm Kivuli's friend." The Outsider raised an eyebrow. "The prince? We brought him to play with Tumbusi."

The Outsider pursed her lips. Suddenly, she looked over her shoulder and shouted in a shrill tone, "Tumbusi!"

A scruffy looking cub with an umber coat came running up to them. His eyes were a startling shade of cyan. Like the other lioness, his eye shadows were dark, dirty brown. "Yes Zira?" he panted.

"Do you know these Pridelanders?"

Tumbusi looked at the three of them perplexedly. When he spotted Kivuli standing between Ripuka's legs his eyes lit up and he smiled slyly. "Oh, hey Kivuli. What're you doing here?"

"I came to play." He glanced at Zira uncertainly. "If that's okay…"

"Did you bring it?" Tumbusi whispered. Kivuli nodded, causing him to grin. "It's okay Zira, Kivuli's my friend. Can I go play with him?"

"Alright, but take your sisters with you." She sounded eager to be rid of them. Nala's eyes widened slightly. _Sisters?_

Tumbusi and Kivuli headed for Turtle Rock. As they took off Ripuka turned to Roho and grunted, nodding in the direction of the elephant bone. Roho stared at her blankly. She snarled at him and he jumped up to fetch the elephant phone. "Okay, okay! Geeze!" Ripuka narrowed her eyes at him and followed the two cubs, leaving Nala alone with Zira. In spite of Zira's judgmental stare she tried to put on a friendly face. _I need to get back to mom, but as long as I'm here… _

"So… you have younger sisters?"

"No. Do you?"

Nala was taken back. "Excuse me?"

"Mother is too old for cubs. The cubs belong to my sister, Fusa. Not that it's any of your business…" She tilted her head and smiled like a crocodile. "Oh, you're the princess aren't you? I should have guessed. You have such a pretty face," she said acidly.

Nala glared at her and turned to go. As much as she wanted to meet Fusa's cubs it wasn't worth her pride. "I need to get back to my mother."

"Aww, a mama's girl. That's so sweet."

Nala stopped in her tracks and turned, tail bristled. "I am _not _a mama's girl."

"Then why the rush? We're just getting to know each other." Zira crowded her and moved to stand in her path, holding her in her beady red eyes. Nala felt like she was being sized up for a meal.

"I'm sorry, I really need to get going." She tried to weave around Zira but the smirking lioness leapt in front of her before she had taken two steps. She scowled and tried to sprint in the other direction, but Zira cut her off again. She flashed her teeth. "What's your problem!?"

"Didn't your sweet mommy teach you any manners, princess? It's rude to walk away in the middle of a conversation. You're not going anywhere until I'm finished with you."

Nala growled. "What do you want?"

"Walk with me."

Internally Nala cursed herself. _Why couldn't I just go home? I know finding mom is more important than what's going on between me and Kivuli, but I let it distract me anyway. Maybe if I go along with her I can get out of here quickly. _

As Zira led her away she glanced over her shoulder at the shrinking profile of Turtle Rock with worry. Although she still didn't trust Ripuka she found herself longing for the support of Kivuli's hulking bodyguard. Suddenly Zira turned to face her. "Fight me."

Nala blinked. "What?"

"You've got a pretty face but your head is an empty shell. I'm challenging you for the right to rule this pride. Now, fight me!"

Her cheeks blazed with inner fire. Zimwi's deal with Ahadi made Zira's challenge pointless - Scar would not allow her to be dethroned prematurely - but when the opportunity to settle differences with her claws arose Nala refused to roll over under the Outsider's insults. A deep growl filled her throat and grew to a roar as she leapt at Zira with claws unsheathed. Zira reared up and grappled her and Nala felt teeth digging into her shoulder. She swiped at Zira's side, clawing and shoving her away. The Outsider backpedaled with a roar. Nala followed right on her paws. They boxed. Her head whipped to the side as Zira smacked her bluntly across the cheek. Sore but still wide awake, she ducked a swipe from Zira's left paw and walloped her hard with her right. While Zira reeled she tackled her to the ground and pinned her on her back. Her thrashing finally ceased when Nala pinned her claws to her throat. She stood over Zira for a moment, the two of them gasping for breath. There was no fear in the Outsider's eyes, only malice. Nala could see that she was beaten. "The next time I see you, I want your respect!"

She got off of Zira and walked away in an angry huff. The Outsider did not try to follow.

In spite of her victory the encounter with the Outsider left her in a rotten mood. For the first time in her life someone had treated her differently because of her status. She always thought she would dislike shouldering the burdens of a leader, yet Zira only acknowledged her role for the chance to challenge it. How was it she could feel disdain at the thought of ever becoming queen and at the same time be so defensive of her title? She told herself that it wasn't her title she was defending, merely her honor. Nobody called Nala stupid and got away with it.

Without realizing it Nala had arrived at Pride Rock. Her mother was waiting for her. "Nala, what happened? Where are Roho and Kivuli?"

"Mom don't worry, they're fine," she said, feigning a smile. She hoped her mother wouldn't ask where they were specifically. While she tried to come up with a convincing lie Sarafina eyed her shoulder in concern. It was hard to concentrate when her mother looked at her so distrustfully.

"You're filthy... and you're bleeding. What happened to your shoulder?"

Nala lowered her ears. "I got into a scrape with an Outsider," she admitted, sighing. "It was no big deal! She kept insulting me and I had to do something. I don't think she'll be bothering me anymore. I pinned her pretty quickly." She winced as her mother cleaned the wound on her shoulder where Zira bit her. She sat down willingly and felt herself start to relax. She might be in trouble but after everything she went through today it felt good to be babied a little (not that she would admit it).

"Nothing but trouble, just like your father." Nala rolled her eyes. _How many times have I heard that one? _"You're lucky this wound is shallow. I thought you were just giving Kivuli a tour of the Pridelands. How on earth did you get so dirty?"

"Promise me you won't get mad until I'm finished?" She could hear the hard edge to her mother's voice and knew she was in trouble. At least she knew her mother wouldn't prevent her from participating in the hunting competition over this, it was too important for her future. Remembering those horrible grins made her feel suddenly fragile. No matter how painful the memory, Nala wouldn't allow herself to cry. This was too important to get emotional. Turning to face her mother, she drew a deep breath and slowly, calmly told her mother everything. When she told her how she snuck into the Elephant Graveyard with Kivuli and the others Sarafina looked as though she might suddenly explode with anger. Even her blue eyes looked hot. Somehow she managed to keep her promise not to interrupt. By the time she finished all the fury had drained from her mother's creamy face. There weren't any hyenas around to hear them, but her mother's eyes still darted as if she feared being overheard. She leaned in close and whispered, "Are you sure of what you saw?" Nala nodded.

Sarafina lowered her eyes and rapidly flicked her ears. Her mother's expression made her look completely alien. Nala felt a little ill, not just from recounting what she saw but also from the way her mother's silence seemed to suck out all the air from her lungs. She tried to reassure her, adding, "Roho does have a pretty wild imagination, though. He could have been mistaken. I never got a good look at them. I couldn't stand to."

"I understand," her mother said absently as if to forgive her. Nala stared at her uncomfortably, but it was a long time before she said anything. When her mother did speak her voice sounded hollow and dead. She could hardly believe the words that came out of her mother's mouth: "They were probably just rogues. It's best not to worry about them."

Her eyes widened in shock. "But what about the hyena tracks?"

"Don't go poking your nose in this," her mother growled, startling her so badly that her heart nearly stopped. "I mean it. I want you to forget what you saw, never speak of it again. And tell Roho to do the same."

"But mom-"

"Nala, this isn't your responsibility. Shaba and Zito are gone. They abandoned us and there's nothing any of us can do to bring them back. Now I want you to promise me you will never breathe a word of what you saw to anyone. Is that understood?"

She reluctantly lowered her head. This felt wrong, but she was too tired to argue or oppose the fear her mother's words instilled. Part of her wanted to put all of this behind her. "Yes, mom," she murmured.

"Good. Now go up to the den and get some rest. I don't want you coming out again until dinner."

Her punishment seemed lax all things considered. Nala didn't try to fight it. She sulked up the path to the communal den. When she looked inside she saw Scar and his mother Uru sleeping together, Uru's head cushioned by her son's black mane. Nyonda lay near by with her daughters Mea and Bombu snuggled up to her on either side. Ruka was elsewhere, probably goofing off with Chumvi or practicing for the big competition. A sixth lioness with a caramel coat lifted her head and looked at Nala with deep red eyes. It was her friend Kula. She beckoned her with a smile. Glad not to be alone, Nala draped herself over Kula with a sigh.

Nala had known her since cubhood. After Simba passed away Kula hardly ever left her side. They didn't have much in common, Kula being cautious and thinking with her stomach - Nala being adventurous and always using her brain, but Kula was kind and for that Nala would always love her, even though they didn't spend as much time together as they used to.

"Rough day?" Kula whispered, careful not to wake the other lions.

"Yeah."

"That's okay. I'm sure you'll feel better after dinner."

"Actually, I've kind of lost my appetite..."


	11. Helter Skelter

Two more weeks of quiet passed. Before long Nala was once again absorbed in hunting with her mother and the other lionesses, but what she saw in the Elephant Graveyard remained a shadow in the back of her mind. She wished she could talk to Sarabi or Nana Uru about it. With the contest less than a week away, at least she had a means to distract herself.

There was a little good news: Kivuli and Tumbusi were getting along. Although he seemed to have no interest in Tumbusi's sisters she hoped that would change as he grew older. She would have liked to observe them, to search for ways to bring them close together, but most of the time Zira prevented her from getting too close. Nala was beginning to wonder when she would find the time to put her plan into action. For now her days were consumed with hunting and training. When she had a spare moment all she wanted to do was rest. If she had any energy left at all her friends always managed to scoop her up before she could put it to use spying on the Outsiders. The contest was important to her, it always came first. Of course, if she won, leading a hunting party would give her even less time to work on her plan. How would she ever pull this off?

"Nala?"

"Hm? Sorry, I was lost in thought," she said sheepishly to Wezi. She, Wezi, Buibui, Eupe, and her mother were on their way to a herd of wildebeest Chibi had scouted for them.

"I understand. I'm excited about the contest, too," Wezi said cheerfully. Though her friend was soft spoken Nala could see the subtle eagerness in her eyes. After the Royal Presentation of Kivuli, Eupe stopped talking about taking her daughter and leaving the Pridelands. Even though nothing had occurred since then everyone sensed Eupe's dissatisfaction with Scar's leadership, especially Nala, who feared she might still decide to leave one day. Fortunately now that she was a teenager, Wezi was old enough to stay behind on her own if Eupe ever decided to leave for good – not that either of them wanted that. They hoped that if Wezi won the competition next week she could convince her mother to stay. Despite being in direct conflict with one another, Wezi remained a good friend.

The herd was in sight. Eupe and Sarafina turned to the youngsters while Buibui kept an eye on the herd. "We're going ahead to set up an ambush. It's up to you two to choose our targets."

"Two targets?" Nala whispered, astonished. She had never been on a double-kill hunt before. Only the adults participated in this type of hunt, not because of the danger – but because of how easily the plan could go wrong. Instead of ending up with two kills they could end up with nothing to eat and a lot of wasted energy. Sarafina nodded gravely. She smirked at them.

"You two were at the top of Binti's hunting class. We all have faith in you. Now listen carefully… Buibui will be stationed over there by those trees. Wezi, it will be your job to select a wildebeest and lead it to her. You'll have to help her bring it down. Do you think you can handle that?" Wezi nodded without hesitation. Sarafina turned to Nala, saying, "Your job will be to select the largest bull you can find and drive it towards Eupe and I. Once the herd starts to split Eupe will help you isolate your target. Together you'll drive it toward the bushes where I'll be waiting in ambush."

"Right," Nala nodded, grinning.

Eupe gently nuzzled her daughter's cheek. They looked so much like each other, more like sisters than mother and daughter: pale cream fur, light dusty ear spots and eye shadows, and the same turquoise eyes. "Be careful, Wezi."

"I will, mom."

"You too, Nala," said Sarafina. Nala only grinned. She could barely contain herself.

The hunting party split up. Staying low to the ground, Nala and Wezi crept toward the herd. During this part of the hunt quiet was absolutely essential. Nala and Wezi communicated through telling glances, subtle facial gestures – a flick of the ear could change the outcome of the entire hunt. By the time they closed in on the herd Nala had chosen her target. Wezi gave a small tilt of her head. She had found her target, too. _This is it._

She would never forget the feeling of her first hunt. No longer an individual, she transformed into a part of the whole, becoming one with her hunting party. Somehow she could almost sense what the other lionesses were thinking, as if they were all connected by an invisible web of belonging. She never tired of it.

Hooves pounded all around her as she cut through the herd on the heels of her target. It felt like running through a thunderstorm. Eupe sprang to her side as if springing from the earth itself. Running out of breath, Nala took her eyes off her target for a moment to watch Eupe run beside her. In a few seconds Nala would slow down to let her take over until they reached Sarafina's hiding spot, then her mother would tackle their target and the two of them would close in to help with the kill. Nala allowed Eupe to over-take her. As she fell back she noticed something approaching out of the corner of her eye, an enormous shadow rolling pitilessly across the land. The herd was fragmenting. "Eupe, watch out!"

Eupe neither saw nor heard the approaching danger. Nala tried to catch up to her on burning legs. The roar of the herd filled her ears. Too far away to help, Nala screamed until her lungs ached, "Eupe!"

Her ribs shuddered in the cacophony. Finally Eupe became aware of the danger, but instead of speeding up she slowed down, her mouth wide open. The herd was almost on top of them now.

_"No!"_ Nala screamed, still too far away to help. Yet she was close enough to see the fear in Eupe's turquoise eyes. Even if she reached her they would only be trampled together in the stampede. If only Eupe ran. _Why didn't she run!?_ Nala dug her claws into the earth and spun around on her heels, her tail whipping against a wildebeest's shoulder as she fled from the gauntlet. Another wildebeest leapt out in front of her. Nala ducked and skid as it leapt over her, its hooves narrowly missing her neck only to be cut off by two more. She changed direction, running with the herd instead of through it, but her legs were about to give out. Spotting an opening she charged past another wildebeest and into the open air. The sun flared and clawed at her eyes as she collapsed into the grass, utterly exhausted.

The thunderstorm faded into the distance, replaced by her ragged breathing. For several seconds the savannah was deceptively calm. Suddenly, she heard her mother cry, "Nala! Eupe! Where are you!?"

She tried to call out to her but her throat was parched and cracked dry. She coughed, licked her muzzle and blinked, clearing the tears from her eyes. Tall stalks of elephant grass obscured her vision. They seemed to be looking down on her like vultures. She wanted to bury herself in the dirt and shrink from them. Somewhere she heard her mother frantically leaping through the grass, searching for them. Gritting her teeth, Nala dragged herself onto her stomach and pushed herself onto her four legs. Her legs shuddered to hold her weight.

"Eupe?" Knocking through the grass, her mother shrieked, "Eupe! By the stars!"

Looking over her shoulder, Nala saw her mother standing ten yards away. She was staring at something on the ground. Eupe was nowhere in sight. Nala filled her lungs with air (the smell of blood) and willed herself to move toward her mother as quickly as her body allowed. She expected the worst.

Trampled and stained red, the elephant grass bent beneath Eupe's bruised and broken body. Blood bubbled and dripped from her lips with her every exhale, flowing from the gash in her throat, and her back leg looked badly mangled. She shuddered in agony. "Oh no…" Tears threatened Nala's eyes, causing her to grit her teeth. She looked to her mother. "Mom, what do we do?"

Sarafina was already crying. Tear stains were plainly visible on her cheeks, accented by the dust from the stampede. It was the first time since Mufasa's death Nala saw her cry. She seemed to be a million miles away. There was no time to comfort her, no time for a reunion. "I need to get Rafiki. Stay here and lick her wounds." Nala started to ask what to do about Wezi and Buibui, but her mother was already running as fast as her legs could carry her.

Part of Binti's hunting lessons included an in-depth guide for what to do if you or one of your team members gets injured. As always Nala was the stand-out of her class, but being faced with the real thing for the first time made her simultaneously want to sob and throw-up. No one had ever depended on her like this before. Lying down at Eupe's side, she gently placed a paw on her shoulder – ready to move if she flinched – and started licking the wound on her neck, which seemed to be the most serious. Some of Eupe's blood got into her nostrils. Shivering, Nala choked back a sob. If she couldn't control the bleeding Eupe might die before Rafiki could help her.

"Naa…"

Nala froze and stared at Eupe. Was she trying to speak? Eupe sucked in air, lips painfully peeled back. "Naa…"

"Yes, it's me, Nala," she said, quivering. "Please don't try to speak. You're going to be all right, mom's gone to get help. You're going to be okay, Eupe."

Just then Nala heard a roar. That was Buibui signaling that she and Wezi had made a kill. They were so far away, she wondered if they even knew what happened. For a moment she wondered if they caused the herd to split. _No, couldn't be. Buibui is too experienced for that and Wezi would never be so careless. Some kind of freak accident?_

She almost called to them but something made her hesitate. Buibui and Wezi were the only ones with a kill. With food so scarce the pride couldn't afford to lose it to scavengers. They would just have to stay put until Scar showed up with the others. Suddenly Eupe covered her nose with her paw, startling her from her thoughts and drawing her into her eyes. In spite of her obvious pain and weakness Eupe held her gaze compellingly as if trying to impart information of great importance, but her voice was weak and rent. "Huuh… huuuuhh… uck… sssssssk… ahh…"

Nala shook her head, mystified. "I'm sorry, I-I don't understand. Please be still. I'm going to take care of you, I promise."

Eupe did not try to speak again, though she was in too much pain to be quiet. Once she even tried to stand to Nala's disbelief. Binti warned her that moving around with an open wound only caused it to bleed faster. Panicked, she gently coaxed her to lie down again. Scar and the hyenas were approaching on the horizon by the time her mother returned with Rafiki bounding after her, using his stick as a pivot to leap through the air. Nala quickly got out of his way. Her mother stood close to her, panting hard. As they looked on the baboon broke open a gourd and smeared some sticky paste over the gash in Eupe's neck. Eupe hissed and flexed her claws and Rafiki replied with gentle, placating noises. He turned to Sarafina and said, "We need to get her back to Pride Rock right away. There are too many predators out here."

"But the hyenas –" Nala protested. Rafiki raised his hand for silence. "Better the enemy you know than the enemy you don't. Help me get her up, Sarafina."

Sarafina stood beside Eupe while Rafiki helped the injured lioness to stand. Eupe leaned heavily against Nala's mother, holding her injured back leg in the air like a flamingo. Desperate to help in any way, Nala said, "What can I do?"

"Stay with your friend. She needs you," said Rafiki, gesturing towards the advancing pride with his staff. Wezi stood apart from the rest of them, staring at Sarafina and Rafiki holding up her mother with mouth agape. Nala ran toward her.

"What's going on? What happened to my mom!?"

"There was an accident. I'm so sorry Wezi, I tried to save her but I couldn't reach her in time."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"I don't know. Mom and Rafiki are taking her back to Pride Rock now."

"I have to go with them." Wezi jumped past her before she could say anything. She followed after Wezi, watching over her as she spoke to her mother through a veil of tears. Eupe looked at her daughter, too weak and injured to communicate with more than her eyes. As they walked back to Pride Rock Nala nervously watched the Sootfoot clan flow over the land like smoke. There wouldn't be enough meat for everyone.

…

"I wish we could push the contest back, but several litters have just been born to the Sootfoot clan and there isn't enough food to go around. We can't afford to delay."

Nala's heart sank. Since yesterday's accident Eupe could barely eat or drink on her own. With her condition so fragile, neither Wezi nor Rafiki could leave her side. "Couldn't you two form your own hunting team? At least temporarily."

Binti and Chibi were such wonderful teachers Nala couldn't imagine they would have problems leading their own hunting party. However, Chibi frowned. "We have been doing relief hunting for the other teams. The problem is we also have our paws full tracking the herds. Many of them are being over hunted."

"Some of them have even formed coalitions to stop us from attacking them," Binti added. "There's also the leopards and cheetahs to deal with. Our over hunting is making it harder on them, too. Since the herds have started banding together it's gotten more and more dangerous to hunt them so, as you know, many of our huntresses have turned to hunting prey usually reserved for the other meat eaters. Some of the hyenas have also started poaching their kills."

Chibi sighed. "But what else can we do? There are so many mouths to feed."

Nala had never seen the twins look so tired before. She thought forming a new hunting party would help the Pridelands, but she had no idea that the other animals were suffering too. This new hunting party would only make matters worse for them. Chibi was right. What else could they do? "But if we can't post-pone the contest there's no way Wezi will be able to compete. Her mother needs her."

"We know and we're sorry. There's just nothing we can do. Binti and I are working on finding someone to take her place. We already –"

"Ah, there are you are! Good morning, princesses!" Chibi stopped as Zazu flew down and landed on the lowest hanging branch of an acacia tree above their heads. The three lionesses looked at him. "Pardon me for interrupting, but his Majesty has requested your presence at the Throne immediately! He has an important task for you regarding the vacancy in the hunting competition."

Binti and Chibi exchanged glances. Sarabi had placed them in charge of the hunting competition. To Nala's understanding she granted her daughters total control over the proceedings. Her tail ruffled at the thought of Scar butting in where he didn't belong.

She followed the twins to their meeting with their uncle. Neither Zazu nor the twins objected, which slightly disappointed her because she was itching for the chance to prove her rights. An audience with the king would give her a chance to plead Wezi's case to the highest authority in the Pridelands. Surely he could do something to help her. Wezi deserved this opportunity just as much as any of them. Even though she insisted she didn't mind forfeiting the contest to help her mother, Nala couldn't leave it alone.

They found the king and queen lounging on the Throne of Pride Rock. Pride Rock's massive spire cast a shadow over them. In addition to Scar's hyena guards there were two other lionesses sitting near the royal family. Recognizing one of them, she felt as though a gazelle kicked her in the chest and had to restrain herself from curling her lips. _What is _she _doing here?_

Zira and her mother Shetani sat at Scar's right shoulder. A smirk touched Zira's muzzle when she recognized Nala. The older lioness looked just as Sarabi described her, except for one feature: her cold blue eyes. Her unblinking gaze reminded her of a serpent. Nala chided herself, reminding herself of what Nana Uru told her about never judging others based on their appearance. Still, something about Shetani's eyes made her uneasy. Looking away from her, she noticed Kivuli asleep in Sarabi's arms. His eyes were closed but his ears stood erect. Maybe he wasn't sleeping after all. Scar smiled at them without getting up.

"Hello girls," the king purred amicably. "Thank you so much for coming. You too, Nala. It's good that you came."

Nala raised her eyebrows. Scar shouldn't have been expecting her. What did he want? He turned to the two Outsiders.

"Zira, Shetani – these are my nieces Binti and Chibi. They're in charge of the hunting competition. Binti, Chibi – I'd like you to meet Zira, one of the newest members of our pride. I believe you two have already met Shetani. She wishes to enter her daughter in the competition."

The twins were stunned, as was Nala. At first neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Chibi said quietly, "Thank you very much Shetani, but I'm afraid Binti and I already had our hearts set on Moto. She was one of my best students you see and… well..."

"We were hoping to keep the entries limited to the young huntresses we trained. We've never seen you hunt before," Binti continued, straining to be polite. Although Shetani's expression remained unchanging, Zira wrinkled her nose.

"Precisely why I sent for you dears! I wouldn't expect you to include Zira without a demonstration. She should have to prove herself first. That's why Sarabi and I have decided that in order to be fair to everyone we're going to send the three of you on a hunting expedition. Our most experienced huntress Halali will accompany you to act as an impartial observer."

"That's really not necessary," Chibi said calmly. This time she may have been a little too blunt, for Scar's eyes narrowed and his smile changed to a sneer. As if sensing a change in the atmosphere, Sarabi spoke up. "Binti, please. Shetani's daughters have helped me on my hunts before."

Binti and Chibi exchanged looks again. Reluctantly, Chibi turned to Zira, "I suppose it's only fair to give you a chance. At least we'll finally get to know each other."

Nala said nothing until Binti and Chibi left with the Outsiders. While she disliked the idea of having Zira in the competition even more than Moto, at least she knew the odds of her taking Wezi's place were slim to none with her bad attitude. To her surprise, Scar stood up before she could approach him and went to her side. Now that he got what he wanted he appeared to be in a much better mood. "Nala, come with me to the watering hole. There's something I need to discuss with you."

She glanced warily at Sarabi. The queen returned her gaze with a serene smile and her fur slowly settled down. _I guess it's not like I have a choice…_ Two hyena guards filed in behind them as they descended from the Throne of Pride Rock to the grasslands below. Her ears rotated behind her head, listening for signs of trouble from their two companions. Scar never went anywhere without at least two hyenas close by. She wondered what made him so paranoid. He certainly didn't look like he had anything to be afraid of. The way Scar carried himself he seemed to believe it was he who should be feared.

Sarabi once told her that Scar was complicated. Having observed his behavior many times and gleaned a few intimate details of his life through Kivuli, Nala felt inclined to agree.

"I just wanted to say how sorry I am about what happened to Eupe. I know all too well what it's like to lose a family member."

"She's still here," she said defensively, glaring at him.

"Really? I thought she'd passed on during the night." He seemed genuinely surprised. He shrugged. "I apologize. The fact of the matter is that the odds of Eupe's survival are slim. How are you holding up?"

Nala's temper cooled. She looked away, drawing herself up to make herself look tougher. "I'm okay. It's Wezi I'm worried about. She worked so hard during our classes together. I know Eupe would want her to see this through but Wezi refuses to leave her side. Isn't there anything you can do? Send another lioness to look after her?"

"It seems to me Wezi is happy where she is," Scar replied coolly, irritating Nala. What right did he have to speak for her friend?

"You don't know her. She has to compete…" She couldn't explain why. If Scar knew about Eupe's intention to leave she might get into trouble.

The gentleness in Scar's voice startled her. For a moment he sounded almost like Uru. "While that may be true, Eupe will be lucky to survive the week. If Wezi wishes to share mother's finals days then I see no reason to force them apart because of some competition."

"Eupe is going to make it. She has to." She blinked back the tears threatening her eyes. Eupe was like an aunt to her. She couldn't imagine the Pridelands without her or Wezi.

Realizing that they had been walking for a while without saying anything, she looked at Scar. He met her eyes, shapely eyebrows raised faintly as if asking a pertinent question. She knew what he was implying. Of course he thought the same thing about Ahadi, Johari, Mufasa, Simba, and everyone else he lost. For a long time Nala also refused to believe that Mufasa and Simba were truly gone. But they were gone. Nothing could bring them back. Unable to stand what she saw Nala looked at her paws instead. "Are you still going to compete?" he inquired, tactfully changing the subject.

Would she? She never thought about it before. If Scar was right…

_No, he can't be right. _

"Of course I am," she snapped. "I've been dreaming of becoming lead huntress my entire life. Besides, I'd be letting my mother down."

The corners of his mouth turned up in an approving smile. "That's the spirit. How is Sarafina, by the way?"

"She's with Eupe. We haven't spoken much since the accident… I'm worried about her, too. I've never seen her so upset before." She worried that her mother blamed her for the accident somehow. Ever since she brought Eupe back to Pride Rock they hardly spoke to each other, despite Nala's best attempts. If not for her mother's strange behavior she would have been reluctant to say anything to him. Nonetheless, this subject made her uncomfortable.

"What a pity. Parents can be so misunderstanding," he said consolingly as if reading her thoughts. Nala looked up at him in confusion. Suddenly, he didn't seem so menacing. The way he spoke to her was almost kind. Imperious, but kind.

"What was she like when she was my age?" She felt anxious to talk about something else. Walking in silence beside Scar was too unnerving. There was something else she wanted to tell him, too. She just needed to be careful how she brought it up. His smile lit up giddily.

"Oh, she was at least two when Zimwi sent her here. She was always a spitfire lass. I sort of fancied her for a while." He gave her a sideways glance and chuckled deeply. "Don't look at me that way! She liked me, too. That was all before that fiasco with the Sootfoot clan. She blamed me for letting Sarabi get hurt, as if my presence could have made all the difference. Can you imagine me beating back waves of hyenas with a flick of my wrist?" He waggled his paw comically. His expression sobered. "No. I tried to convince her to come with me but she refused to abandon her pride. I suppose that was noble of her. However, I am at my core a lion of principals. She could no more convince me to stay than I convince her to leave. In the end, we all paid the ultimate price for _his_ arrogance. The choices we make have a way of catching up with us, for better or for worse."

Something about the way he talked about Mufasa put her ill at ease. Maybe it was because he refused to say his brother's name. In spite of all that, there was something eerily familiar about the way Scar spoke of his older sibling. She tried to steer the conversation back to her mother's past. "Mom never told me about that. Did she ever want to be queen?"

"She saw it as her duty, nothing more. Even after she gave up her title to Sarabi she still had a lot of influence in politics up until my nieces were born. She stayed close to Sarabi, taught her all she needed to know. Sarafina deserves all the credit for Sarabi's success. I'm not sure how things would have turned out without her."

"Did you always want to be king?"

A grin slowly crept over his features. "You have no idea." Composing himself, he quickly added, "But then I was never my father's favorite."

Suddenly Nala realized where she heard that tone before. "Sarabi said you and… she said it was complicated. I think I understand now. My friend Roho never gets any attention at home because his mother is too busy with his older sisters, so he spends all his time alone or with me. No one ever notices how smart he is. Or how brave."

She sensed no recognition in Scar's eyes when she said Roho's name. Once she explained his situation, however, Scar immediately put on a knowing smirk. "No one ever pays attention to the runt of the litter. We're the ones you have to watch out for."

A genuine smile touched her face. Feeling confident in herself, she decided the time had come to pop the question. "There's something I have to tell you. I don't want to be engaged to Kivuli. It's nothing against him personally, I just don't want to marry anybody."

They were nearing the watering hole. Over Scar's shoulder in the distance, she caught a glimpse of Turtle Rock with Zira's sister and her cubs relaxing in the sun. Scar did not look at her. "I'm not surprised," he said blandly. "Thema felt the same way about marrying your uncle. They're quite happy now, so I've heard. The point is Kivuli is still just a lad. Wait until you're both older. You may find out you have more in common than you think."

He bent to drink from the watering hole. Nala studied him uncertainly, wondering what to make of his answer. She wanted to believe that he would let her change her mind when she was older but his words sounded more like orders to be optimistic about her future than an alteration. After drinking her fill she tried to get a look at herself in the water's reflection. Her face became distorted on the unsteady surface. Scar stopped drinking, but the ripples he left behind broke her image into a thousand fragments. "There's one more thing I need to ask you. Did you notice anything unusual when Eupe had her accident?"

She tried to think back to yesterday. Remembering back to that moment was almost as futile as trying to remember her first day outside the den. She had only vague notions of what happened. "We were trying for a double-kill. Wezi and Buibui went after one target while Eupe and I chased another toward mom. I was falling back behind Eupe when all of a sudden the herd split in two and changed directions, headed right for us. That's all I remember. Wezi and Buibui were too far away to have caused it."

The look on Scar's face reminded her of when she first met him face to face in the birthing den, when he seemed to be paying very close attention to everything. Just when she was starting to feel comfortable with him he found a way to make her uneasy again. "You don't think something else is going on, do you?"

"Perhaps. Huzuni is still unaccounted for as are Shaba and Zito."

Nala shook her head, furious at the accusation. "Huzuni would never do that. She was a nana, she watched us grow up."

"Her grip on sanity has been tenuous at best since Amadi died at the start of the Sootfoot conflict. She was his mother."

She stumbled backwards, shaken. "No! I don't care what happened in her past – Huzuni is not a killer and neither are Shaba and Zito. They might not be Pridelanders anymore, but they would never betray us!" She retreated further from him, feeling the eyes of his hyena bodyguards pinned to her face. Scar made no attempt to stop her. She sneered at him in disgust, hating him for his pretentious apathy. "They would _never _betray us. I don't wanna talk to you anymore."

"I was only asking a question," he said with a slimy shrug. "Very well then. You may return to Pride Rock."

Her nostrils flared. She almost growled, _I don't need your permission. _Something held her tongue. Maybe it was her sense of tact or self-preservation. She didn't know. The clearest thought in her mind was that she needed to get away from him before her temper got her into trouble. She turned and made her way back to Pride Rock.


End file.
